


Hesitant Killjoys

by LilahLuck



Category: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Album), My Chemical Romance
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-26
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2018-08-27 04:55:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 32
Words: 49,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8387977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilahLuck/pseuds/LilahLuck
Summary: Sequel to Scarecrow And The Angel Solution.The fabulous killjoys died....didn't they?





	1. Chapter 1

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. - Psalms 116:15

 

There had been a time when things had been simple. When it had been a fight between good and bad, the ultimate goal to be able to live as free as one wanted and enjoy a life of love, sorrow, colour and laughter. For a while it had all seemed possible, the nuclear wasteland and blank sterility of BLI could be washed away in bright neon colour and the world would bloom and blossom again. The Fabulous Killjoys had made that seem possible, they had destroyed Battery City in one violent night of fire and death, Korse and his minions seemingly destroyed and for that brief, bright moment everyone had been free.  
Then it went wrong.  
Government is harder than it looks and the Killjoy council suddenly had several hundred thousand refugees, its own people and a great big radioactive blot on the landscape that had been BLI’s number one city . Bloodshed had continued, the zones falling in on each other and yet even that had been workable, Party Poison had sent his boys to each of the Zones and set up districts to feed and shelter the populace, a fledgling democracy that was free from drugged apathy and alive, for want of a better word.  
Problem was BLI rose again like a hydra, the removed head spouting again in another Battery City, another Korse as he had been one of many cyborgs and all of a sudden it was starting all over again. The Zones went back to war, the Killjoys slowly pushed back until it had been like before, the former victories lost and the casualties rising. Even then they had not lost hope, the bushy haired little girl had somehow been important to BLI and her rescue on the night the original city had fallen had been merely the beginning of a cat and mouse game to keep her safe. Both sides had traded losses and victories until the four leaders had been pulled into a trap and suddenly the unthinkable had happened.  
Rainbow Revolver sat in the bar at the Crater Club and reflected on it. They had seemed so invincible, she hadn’t even entertained the thought of never seeing him again when Fun Ghoul had kissed her goodbye that night. Even though they had been going into the heart of the new city, even though everyone had said it was a suicide mission, she had thought they would pull it off. Like every other time Party led them all into something stupid. Her best friend had disagreed, Crimson Suicide had argued with Party, called him an asshole despite their love for each other and had gone to get drunk. Rainbow had known she had expected to wake up with him beside her and an apology. A shared breakfast with Kobra and Jet, Missile playing with her food and telling them all about the adventure.  
Except it hadn’t ended that way.  
Instead they had died, the kid rescued but at a cost of their own lives and she saw every frame of their deaths in her mind whenever she closed her eyes. BLI had triumphantly broadcast the footage across the Zones so that everyone knew the Fabulous Killjoys were no more and the dream of a free life would die with them. Rainbow had been on autopilot, taking the leadership of the Council that first day and somehow trying to make sense of it all. She would never see her laughing boy again, never hear his voice or feel his arms around her. That Ghoul had died a hero, that he had stayed back in an effort to save Jet and the kid was a hollow triumph, they were all gone just the same.  
Slowly but surely the killjoy network had gone underground, BLI once again controlling the outside and Rainbow had been forced to listen to the infighting, the recriminations that had ripped the heart out of everyone. Without their leaders it was harder to carry on fighting and many had gone back into the drugged populace to get away from the pain, the others reduced to hit and run resistance again. Some had been like her, a grim determination to carry on because that would have been what the boys would have wanted or they would have died for nothing. Others, like Crimson, had gone the other way and become lawless, killing for the sake of it. Drac, civilian, didn’t really matter and that was now why she was alone, a scar snaking down below her right eye and over her nose to end by her lip. Her best friend had done that after one too many arguments and now Rainbow didn’t bother to hide it. Her hair was still a rich red, her purple shirt and tight leathers hadn’t changed but Ghoul would no longer recognise the colder, more focused woman she had become.  
That fight had been brutal and would probably have ended in death for both of them if others hadn’t intervened. Crimson was done with causes, it had taken Gerard from her and she had wanted to leave, not bound by duty or any sense of loyalty to those left and unable to understand that Rainbow was, Missile had no-one else and there was a war to win. The verbal fight had become viciously physical and while Rainbow was now scarred, Crimson had nearly died after Rainbow had fired her gun in desperation and caught her friend in the head. They had all thought she would die, somehow no one had wanted that but instead she had vanished out into the desert. Rainbow heard stories of her occasionally, out in Zone 6 and now a story to scare the children with. The silent killer….  
“You going to the meeting at four ?”  
Rainbow looked up at Neon Viper with a smile and a shrug. The kid had become a man in the last year and now ran the Crater Club, still the main rally point for the killjoys that remained true to their colours. He was on the edge of the Council and eager to hear about some new propaganda that had been leaked out of the city. He would have done anything Rainbow had asked of him, the young man still eager for glory which was precisely why she wouldn’t let him.  
“I guess. Dr D said it was important.”  
“The Inside Man is getting us some good stuff now.”  
Rainbow nodded absently, stirring her drink with the tip of one finger and reminding herself that Kobra had always said that getting someone inside Battery City would be the key to victory. They had that now but her tall, blond friend had not lived to see it and she missed him all the more. The agent himself was Toxic Monster, a former protégé of Party’s that had been able to join the flood back to the city but feed them information. It was starting to prove useful.  
“Keep focused Neon, we have a long way to go.”  
The barkeep nodded and left her with the bottle. Rainbow Revolver was fearsome when roused, the carefree good natured girl lost when Frank hadn’t come home. She held them all together with a rod of steel and the rank and file, those who had not known her before now feared her. The old guard respected her as a true fighter, the battle of Battery City had proved that and now she kept them all together by sheer force of will alone. When she walked into the packed room, it fell silent and Dr D waited until she was seated before addressing the packed assembly room deep underground.  
“This information came at great cost and we need to know if what it shows us is true. If it is then we may have suffered the most devastating propaganda loss of this war. On the other hand, if it is true then we may have the first chance to really hit BLI back and hit them hard. These posters have been going up over Battery City and I warn you, they are shocking.”  
A slide came up on the wall, an audible gasp going around the room as the two hundred or so killjoys squinted and stared. Rainbow could do nothing but stare, it was impossible and yet she knew him, had known him intimately as friend, leader and occasionally lover and knew him now. The red hair was gone, replaced with a short ginger spike cut that accented his cheekbones and the blue suit he wore. Gerard Way, formerly Party Poison, restored by BLI and happily presenting kids tv to the brats of Battery City with a pink monkey creature….it was weirdly like a sick joke.  
A voice came from the back of the room, soon joined by others.  
“Is it him ?”  
“It can’t be, Party is dead.”  
“It’s a trick.”  
“It’s a lie. We saw the body.”  
“Where are the others ?”  
Dr D raised his hand again and the noise died down as everyone turned to look at Rainbow. She hadn’t moved, her eyes fixed to the screen as she reread how Gerard credited BLI with saving his life and giving him a wonderful new one. She felt sick, hope and terror merging as she looked at the DJ, the scar livid against the pallor of her skin and the words whispered.  
“We need to find Crimson.”


	2. Chapter 2

The Zones remained as they always had.  
Small settlements tried to survive outside among the ruins and radioactive dust, most of them trying to stay out of the war between BLI and the Killjoys. The cities shone as if in a different world, places of dead peace and a dull sterility that offered warmth and comfort apart from the hostile world outside. The two lifestyles rarely mixed without an explosion of extreme violence, both sides hiding from the protagonists and now these were ramping up after a period of relative peace. Scarecrow patrols and draculoids had returned to the Zones and so had the bands of brightly coloured psychopaths.  
Rainbow leant back in the deep seat of the Mustang, happy to let one of the others drive as she continued to think over what the posters could mean. If Gerard was alive did it mean that Frank was alive ? What about Mikey and Ray ? Or had they all died and only Party had been saved to become the puppet of BLI and its minions. That was the thought that haunted her, to save him and then have to tell him that almost everyone he loved was dead was not something Rainbow could do without support.  
Then there was the question of what they would do if they couldn’t save him. What it would mean to the Killjoys and the entire fight to survive. Party Poison was their charismatic leader, a figure that had inspired devoted love and provided inspiration for all of them through the darkest of times. Rainbow knew that without all four of them she was only keeping together a band of fighters in their memory. If BLI succeeded and used Gerard like this then everyone might lose hope.  
“Rain, snap out of it. Where now ?”  
Rainbow stared at the girl beside her. Dynamite Fairy was one of her best fighters, tough and loyal in ways that sometimes reminded her of Crimson. They had fought side by side after the boys went missing and now she trusted the woman with her life. Fairy shook a mop of curly hair out of her eyes and nodded at the map. They were fast approaching the edge of Zone 5 and things would get more dangerous from here on out. Few people lingered in Six these days.  
“The Grove and then on into Hells Reach. The tip off says Crimson is out there at some bar. Sometimes.”  
Fairy nodded, wondering again why the hell they were doing this. They could go into Battery City without Crimson Suicide, whether she had been Party’s lover or not was immaterial. In the eighteen months since the four had died there had been nothing but bad reports and this one woman was now under sentence of death from both their leadership and BLI. That she and Rainbow had ever been best friends was hard to believe but she had to trust her leader when she said that without Crimson it was a no go.  
“If we find her she may try and kill you again.”  
“Not when she sees the picture. It’s whether she’s sober enough to fight I’m worried about.”  
Rainbow grinned to herself and watched the desert speed by as they dodged the worst of the radioactivity and a drac patrol. She had insisted on doing this with only two companions, Crimson trusted no one and would see it as a threat if they showed up mob handed. Subtle manipulation had always worked better with her and it had usually been Rainbow that managed it. She glanced over at the other occupant of the car, Neon seemed to be able to sleep through anything.  
The Grove remained a burnt out shell, the area beyond it baking in the heat as the killjoys pulled up bandannas against the dust storm and made sure that they had their masks pulled down low. People this far out tended to dislike all sides and the bar they were heading for had quite the reputation. Hells Reach had been a set of office buildings at one time and now housed maybe thirty families with The Pit to one side, a low squat building that was as ugly as it looked.  
The Mustang stood out with its riot of colours spray painted on all sides so they parked it underground in one of the low remains of a shopping mall. There was a coolness that afforded some relief as they checked guns for fresh batteries and the ruins for camera flies. It was easy enough to spot them in the heat of the day, the metal glinted too much to be standard flies but it was still a risk to move around. They all followed Rainbow as she strode up the ramp, a few people were already starting to stare from the doorways. There was no mistaking the red hair and tight leathers, she was as beautiful as she was a legend even this far out in the Zones.  
The man behind the bar knew her immediately and looked nervous although he tried to hide it. There were no more than six or seven patrons in his place at this time of day and all of them left quickly at the sight of the three heavily armed killjoys. Neon closed and locked the door, leaning back against it as Rainbow smiled pleasantly at the bartender. Fairy stood at her shoulder, the tall girl made more threatening by the black leather she wore and the skull painted eyes above her bandanna. The man swallowed nervously.  
“Go get Crimson.”  
The barkeep, a plump sweaty man called Reece, shook his head.  
“I don’t know who you’re talking about and I don’t want no trouble.”  
Rainbow sighed and leant across the bar, her fingers closing into his hair before she slammed his face into the counter and placed the purple raygun up against the bridge of his nose. Reece started to whine and shake, the smile never leaving her face.  
“Do not fucking lie. Crimson comes here and a drone said she was here last night.”  
“I….she….went. I swear she went. That one don’t stay anywhere long.”  
Rainbow looked at Fairy, Neon watching from the doorway as the girl grabbed the terrified man’s hand and planted it flat on the bar. The blade whistled as Fairy drove it through his hand and pinned it cleanly to the bar, blood seeping out as he screamed and jerked. Rainbow stood back and walked around the bar checking for a doorway upstairs or outside.  
“Last chance….”  
“I swear I don’t know. Please !!”  
Reece fought back the urge to vomit, the three people in front of him had not batted an eyelid and now there was a lighter in Neon’s hand, perilously close to the alcohol stained tables. The whole place was dank and musty, only a few glimmers of light breaking in through the corrugated iron slats that passed for windows. The place was a shithole but he didn’t really want to burn with it. Rainbow came back in and walked around the side to get a closer look at the bottles on the shelves.  
“Fine. We light this place up and move on. If you live you can tell Crim we’re looking for her. Reckon you have a fifty fifty chance of pulling that knife out.”  
There was a chuckle from behind them and Rainbow turned, her heart jumping into her throat at the noise coming from one shadowed corner. There was no sound of movement bar the quiet noise and now all three realised that the woman had been there all along, blending into the dark and only now coming out to where they could see her. The leathers were all black, the t-shirt red and Rainbow only recognised her eyes. The red stripes had grown out of her hair and it was cut back from some impressive scars but Crimson Suicide was still carrying the familiar ray gun and the blade at her hip. Her voice was hardly a whisper but full of venom.  
“And what do you want with me ? Last time we saw each other you wanted me dead.”  
Rainbow stood her ground, a thousand memories going through her head of old battles and lost love, the two of them escaping a nuclear blast and nearly dying, laughing together and that last awful fight. It all seemed like a lifetime ago.  
“I have something to show you and a deal on the table.”  
Crimson was more than a little drunk and more than a little surprised. She wanted nothing to do with her old friend, she brought back too many memories in her turn. A man with red hair and a cute giggle, his brother, their friends. All of them gone to a cause that Crimson no longer believed in. Anybody got in her way now and they died, it was so much better that way.  
“No deal. Not interested.”  
“You’re not in a position to argue Crim. You’re coming back with us like it or not.”  
Rainbow watched as the other woman raised an eyebrow and settled back into a rickety chair nearer to the bar. Neon shifted uncomfortably, he had seen one too many bar fights involving these two to think it would be that easy despite now having Fairy to back them up. All of them had forgotten about the man trying to prise his hand out of the wood.  
“No, I’m not and if you’re thinking to make me ? Think. Again.”  
Rainbow sat down opposite her, reaching into her pocket which immediately caused Crimson to raise the gun in her left hand and point it at her face. Two more guns were pointed at them but it had all come down to the two of them and the picture that Rainbow slid across the table.   
“Look at it.”  
Crimson glanced down and then stopped. Her eyes focused a little as she stared at the man smiling confidently for the camera and the caption underneath it. It wasn’t possible, not now after so long and she frowned, the gun dropping and Rainbow waited. Crimson remembered back, Gerard had always gone for a wide range of colours but this was different and she took in every familiar curve and plane of his face before looking back up at Rainbow.  
“Bullshit. Party is dead, Gerard was dead a long time before that. This is BLI trying to finish the job and you’re dumb enough to walk into it.”  
There was a pause, Rainbow could see that Crim had been drinking and wondered what else before she settled further back into the chair. The scars between them were not just physical but somehow it still felt good to see her old friend and she didn’t object when Neon put a bottle of JD between them and two glasses.  
“We both know that is Party. BLI rose from the dead, why not him ?”  
“You think Ghoul and the others are alive too ?”  
Rainbow shrugged, not wanting to admit that she had thought of little else but that possibility. The thought that all of them may be inside Battery City, unknowing and drugged had started to haunt her dreams. Crimson watched her, the low laugh escaping again.  
“You think it and you think we’re going to walk in there and get them all back.”  
Neon took pity on the barman and pulled out the knife as shots of whiskey were passed around and Crimson took another look at the picture. She grudgingly admitted to herself that it really was a possibility that this was Gee and fought with herself about getting pulled back into the madness. He haunted her dreams, the last argument and then seeing Gerard die on the big screens. That had damaged her far more than anything a weapon could do.   
Crimson hadn’t stopped running since the fight. She knew that the brain damage from Rainbow’s wild shot had taken the last of her reason and didn’t fight it, taking down anyone who refused her, from traders to scavs to BLI. A death wish if she was honest, far worse than anything Party would have thought her capable of. For one minute she allowed herself to imagine getting him back.  
Rainbow knew that her former friend was starting to cave and smiled broadly.  
“C’mon Crim, if anyone can do this it’s us. We can’t leave him like that.”  
“Don’t fucking try that on me. He probably won’t even know us.”  
“Then we remind him.”  
There was steel in her voice and Crimson raised an eyebrow. Her friend had always been tough, now she was running the whole damn show and it was hard not to be impressed. Something in her broke, the knowledge that Party was still alive but now in the one position he would hate more than anything else made her mind up for her and Crimson put the gun away. She stood, some keys appearing in her hand as the other three exchanged glances and started to smile.  
“He will probably remember his fucking car though.”


	3. Chapter 3

“And how are the dreams since we last saw each other Gerard ?”  
“Better. I think the new medication is really helping.”  
Gerard smiled at the doctor, grateful as always that his shrink had been able to help him so much. The other man smiled back, seeing the handsome young man in the suit was such a big difference to the frightened snarling thing that Korse had first taken him to see. He wrote down again in the file and adjusted his glasses against the artificial sun that came into the windows of his bright white office.  
“Are they still the same dreams ?”  
Gerard hesitated, something in his mind not wanting to be totally truthful but it was overridden by the mix of chemicals in his system and the brainwashing in his head. He frowned and straitened his tie, the haircut and suit made him look younger than his years. Certainly a world away from the wiry fighter that had graced all those wanted posters. The hazel eyes were still bright but this was a different man.  
“Yes. They are always the same. The dark haired girl, the redhead and the men. I know they were people I knew back when I was sick but I don’t remember their names.”  
Dr Rhodes made more notes and tapped his pencil against the pad, seeing how Gerard was now a little agitated. Clearly the mind was still fighting against the conditioning as his masters had said it would. The defeat at the former Battery City caused by this man and his friends had been a setback but BLI had risen again, the demon Korse with it and now they were in a position to destroy the enemy once and for all.  
“Nothing to worry about. You suffered a terrible trauma out there and it’s only natural for you to need time to heal. Your career is just taking off I hear, quite the hit songmaker.”  
The psychiatrist glanced up at the hidden cameras and then over to the strange creature in the pink suit that seemed to follow Gerard everywhere. His children’s show was very popular all over the BLI empire, a fledgling music career taking off now that everyone had been reminded of who he had been before the world ended in nuclear fire. It had all come around full circle and yet Gerard felt it was wrong.  
“I hope so. I would like to remember even if they are bad memories.”  
“You will. In time. For now it is unimportant.”  
Gerard took the bottle of pills from the man and excused himself, the hour always seemed to go slower than most of the others and he wanted to be punctual. He would leave Lola at the studio and go home to sleep for a few hours before he was needed in the studio again. The sun glinted as he pushed past dracs and onto the tube train that carried him across the sky bubble of Battery City reborn. Down below people moved around, lived and worked in harmony as the droids and troops moved among them.  
It was safe but it was wrong.  
He shook the thought away and chatted to some people on the train who had recognised him from television. They no longer saw him as a threat, most of them had accepted that he had been reborn in the kind busom of BLI and Gerard was grateful for that, the guilt of knowing what he had been before bothered him even though the shrink and everyone else told him that his redemption was nearly complete.   
That thought was still in his head when he reached the apartment, his block in one of the better sectors and spacious despite he being the only occupant. He had been approached by many women for dates and yet, nothing seemed to feel right in that department either. The shrink had suggested post traumatic stress and provided yet more pills. Gerard silently wondered if he was beginning to rattle before locking the door and dismissing the guards outside. The clock said it was four, Gerard loosened his tie and flung off the jacket. One hand automatically messed up his hair as he checked his mail and sat down in the kitchen to drink a cold glass of lemonade.  
He liked to sit and look out of the window, the patches of green that were parks within the metropolis could be seen so much clearer from up here and he almost imagined he could taste fresh air. That was another thought he hadn’t mentioned to the shrink, another thing to feel a stab of guilt about. He had it good now and Gerard reminded himself that he should be grateful. A voice call reminded him that the studio would need him at eight and that Korse requested his company for breakfast the following day. Gerard frowned, turning the phone off and finishing the lemonade before walking into his small bathroom and flicking on the light.  
Even in the city water was at a premium, the desert landscape that surrounded the dome was still saturated with radiation, more so as the blackened dome of the original city could still be seen in the distance and reminded the citizens that the killjoy evil had still not been eradicated and punished for the destruction it had wrought. The war simply went on and Gerard hoped he could do his part to help win it. He slipped the shirt from his body and stared into the mirror.  
There were still so many scars.  
He lifted his chin a little, the one there faded but still visible without makeup to cover it. The others were older, more ghostly against his skin and the result of laser fire and the oldest that spoke of some self harm. Gerard kept them hidden, even now he still felt a little embarrassment over his body and the scars made it worse. He dropped his eyes and concentrated on watching the water fill the bowl, his fingers creating swirling whirlpools before he looked up again and into the mirror.  
The person staring back was no longer him.  
It was the other version of him and it stared back with a cruel smile. His hair was a tangled mess of red locks and the familiar eyes were hidden behind a yellow mask. His body was criss-crossed with the same scars but they were bright and livid. Some of them still wept blood, especially the one under his chin, the one that looked fresh and still smoked. For a moment the flesh Gerard could do nothing but stare at the ghostly reminder of his old life.   
“Nobody is innocent Party, not you, not me and not them….”  
The soft female voice whispered in his brain and for a moment he thought he saw the dark haired girl behind him, alluring and naked beneath a single white sheet from his bed. He was shaking, physically unable to move and even realise that he was screaming until a medic entered and quickly drove a syringe into his arm before guiding the bewildered man out of the bathroom and towards the bedroom.  
Dr Rhodes and Korse watched the tiny monitor dispassionately as their most successful patient was sedated. Raising people from the dead was easy, that’s what most of the dracs were at the end of the day, dead things that remembered nothing. Gerard was so much more than that and so much more important and if Korse had been able to feel he would have been annoyed.  
“He is still not perfect.”  
“You cannot expect perfection with a mind like his but he is proving very useful. We will continue the drug therapy to make him more docile.”  
The unnaturally pale man nodded, his masters had taken pride in killing the most famous of the killjoys and now they would be used to bring down the others. It amused them they said, to see this man now working for BLI instead of against it. A glorious weapon that would finish the resistance forever. Korse didn’t care for that, he had his orders and would make sure that they were followed to the letter.  
“And the others ?”  
Rhodes turned to another bank of monitors, flicking some switches until another man appeared on the screen. This one was tall and rail thin, his dark brown hair swept back and shaved close at the sides, a pair of heavy glasses shading his eyes. He was in a simple white shirt and black tie, diligently tapping information into a bank of computers somewhere in the east of the city. Far away from the man that was his brother and safely unknowing.   
“Michael has reacted well to the conditioning. He is a good boy and is fitting in well with his co-workers. So far there has been little sign of trauma.”  
“Watch him. That one was just as dangerous as the other one.”  
Rhodes made a note on his ever present pad and turned another set of dials. The picture this time was grainy and a little out of focus. It took a couple of minutes to locate the man he was looking for. This man was of larger build, a riot of curly hair slicked down and he wore a white lab coat. He moved amongst the other scientists, moulding and creating super weapons and new drugs with which BLI would triumph. One eye was bionic, the eye patch he had formerly worn now replaced with a better alternative.  
“Ray is more problematic, like Gerard the base memories keep threatening to come through.”  
Korse stared, no emotion registering in his face. All of the men were needed, they would all prove useful and he did not want to be forced into the alternative action. This one had an amazing mind, his knowledge of electronics and weapons would not be wasted because the doctors could not control him.  
“Increase the treatment as you have with Gerard.”  
“It could turn out to harm them permanently.”  
There was no change and the doctor dropped the subject. He was well aware that once the Killjoys had been defeated there would be no use for these men and it wouldn’t matter. He waited for Korse to ask about the final subject, the one that had been the most problematic of them all.  
“So that just leaves Mr Iero….”  
Rhodes sighed and turned on the last of the monitors. This showed a cell, dirty and underground literally in the bowels of the city. It was dank and cold down there, the walls dripping and slimy as a young man hung on rusty chains. The top half of his body was bare, streaked in dirt and his own blood which hid the tattoos that moved over his skin. His head was against his chest, the face hidden by a shock of black hair. He looked to be unconscious until the doctor pressed a button and spoke in pleasant, condescending tones.  
“Good evening Frank.”  
The man raised his head, one eye black but the other clear and his mouth now twisted into a smile. It was amazing that he still had this much fire, Rhodes knew that most people would barely last a month in the chambers of the city and they were still frustratingly far from breaking this one.  
“Fuck you, my name is Fun Ghoul. I am a killjoy.”  
“You’re a dead man that we raised again. You should be grateful.”  
There was a savage laugh from the man in chains, the scars of the wounds that had killed him still very much visible on his chest. Korse leaned in, he had his orders that all four must be turned or the experiment would be a failure. That this one refused to yield was simply another hurdle to overcome.  
Dr Rhodes turned off all the cameras and turned back to the team of surgeons and medics that had been involved in the project thus far, dispensing orders and another round of tests as Korse relayed the latest information back to his masters and prepared for the next stage in the operation. He would see to it that these Fabulous Killjoys all turned on their former friends, that the war was ended and then, and only then, would he have the pleasure of killing them for the second and final time.


	4. Chapter 4

“You know taking this out in the Zones is a risk right ?”  
Rainbow smiled and nodded, running her fingers along the hood of the car. It looked exactly the same, a beat up and graffiti covered Trans-Am that had seen too many fights but had become an icon. Like the men it had once belonged to. She had thought it lost along with them after the final fight and now turned back to where Crimson was leant back against the wall, a sardonic grin on her face.  
“I thought this was still in the city.”  
“It was. I liberated a lot of things from there with the help of the stealth suit.”  
The two women stared at each other. Rainbow had thought that Crimson had stayed in Zone 6 after their fight and now realised why the diner had been emptied out after the boys had vanished for the last time. Her friend had clearly been intending to use the spoils of their previous raids on pre-war tech and now her curiosity was peaked. Rainbow folded her arms, the annoyance at Crim stealing from them in her voice.  
“You liberated that from the diner. You could have told me.”  
Crimson shrugged and opened the door to the car. It still felt strange to drive it, Party had always been fiercely protective of his baby and all of them had joked that he loved it more than he loved her. It had been the first thing she had taken from Korse, the madness of grief making her take some insane risks to get it which now seemed stupid. It remained her favourite and most treasured thing, a place where she could feel close to him and now it felt right as Rainbow settled in beside her.  
“I could have but we were too busy trying to hurt each other and we did a good job. You know the boys would have been appalled.”  
“I know. So let’s put this right, between you and me as well as getting Gee back.”  
Rainbow absently fingered the scars on her face as Crimson nodded silently, that much was true. In fact Ghoul and Party would have throttled both of them for allowing what happened to come between them. It had been chaos in the aftermath, the Killjoys suddenly leaderless and unsure whether to fight or run. Crimson had wanted the latter, cursing them all for not running before when BLI had started to rise again. Rainbow had wanted to carry on and had, pulling the hundreds of killjoys back into a fighting force which had caused her friend of accusing her of wanting them all to die. Harsh words had turned to knives and teeth which lead to both of them ending up near death. As Rainbow recovered from the stiches used to close her face back up, Crimson had disappeared. It had taken months in the wilds of the outer zones to find a doctor good enough to save her from the violent seizures and agonising headaches and even now there were times when the pain incapacitated her. It was somehow ironic that Party returning from the dead had returned them to each other too.  
“I want nothing of your war Rain. I just want him.”  
Crimson glanced at Rainbow, a trace of the fearless carefree girl she had once been showing in her crooked smile. The other girl returned it and gripped her hand, realising how much they had missed each other.  
“If we save him it won’t matter. You can both go if that’s what he wants.”  
“He won’t so we’ll be back to where we always were. Be honest, you are looking for Frank as much as for Gerard.”  
“Well duh !”  
Crimson chuckled, the car roaring into life as they spun out into the dust of zone four. She had suggested going to her bunker in five first before they did recon on the city. Partly because she did have all their stuff from the diner and some very personal things that she wanted to show Rainbow and partly because she didn’t want anyone else to know of the tech that was now hidden there. She had become adept at moving silently, the stealth suit made her invisible and the fugitive status meant she had become used to not speaking to people for months at a time.  
Rainbow settled back, almost able to believe that Ghoul was next to her, Kobra riding shotgun as Party drove and Jet singing along as the sound of Mad Gear filled the air. It was a carful of ghosts and shadows and she knew that Crimson had been right. If she found her boy alive it would be tempting to leave it all behind and keep running. The other comment had also been correct, even by taking this car out into the Zones would mean that BLI would know that their propaganda had produced a reaction, maybe even cause them to up security but it would be worth it to show the killjoys that not everything about their most revered legends had been lost.  
It was dark by the time they reached an abandoned and bomb scarred parking structure that hid the entrance to Crimson’s hideout. It had been well hidden, Rainbow had patrolled past it a dozen times and never seen the entrance or the tunnel attached that Crimson used to hide the car. They went down into a darkened passage, two flights of metal stairs going lower until finally Crim entered a pass code and another door opened with a shuddering clunk. It was warm inside, the security monitors inside working and linked to a turret gun that pointed outside. Rainbow noted that it was furnished sparsely but comfortably before following Crim into the main room.  
“I managed to repair two stealth suits so you can come with me into the city.”  
Crimson motioned to the familiar mirrored fabric suits hung on the wall as Rainbow reacquainted herself with the bank of weapons along the wall. Most of it had been scavenged and repaired but still looked lethal. It was the four weapons that were kept apart that caused her to pause, the pain in her voice evident as she reached out to run her fingers along a green raygun, hung above was a blue one, a red one below and finally, the most famous yellow gun in history. All of them were decorated, chipped and worn by the men that had fought to their dying breaths.  
“You found them…”  
“I wanted them back before Korse hung them up on some wall of fame to get off on.”  
Rainbow swallowed down the lump in her throat as Crimson took her hand and led her into another room, pausing before a locked metal door. Even she hadn’t been in her for a while, there were certain things that were hard to see but now it could be the very things that reminded Gerard of who he was, who he had been. Ever since seeing the poster Crimson had been determined that whatever brainwashing they had used, there had to be a way to break it. There were eight more floors below including cells and she intended to keep Party hidden from everyone and anyone who could interfere.  
“I have other things. I worked and worked on getting around in the city until I can now go just about anywhere. It’s strange that it’s only now that BLI are using Gerard, I found no sign of any of them for all this time.”  
She pushed the door open and Rainbow flinched, recognising the masks and jackets that hung within on battered mannequins, it was a shrine almost to everything that she and Crim had lost. The laser holes and bloodstains were equally evident and for a moment she thought she would be sick before walking over to where Ghoul’s Frankenstein mask hung over his green vest. Touching it seemed so strange and Crimson understood why, her eyes drawn to the yellow mask before she turned back into the main room. Rainbow lingered, her hands running down the familiar clothes before she followed.  
“You really did keep everything.”  
“I know, grim huh ? You have a plan on how we do this ?”  
Rainbow nodded, pulling out a map of Battery City and laying onto the floor of the main space. She pointed to the apartments and television studios, her voice still a little shaky after so many memories had been brought flooding back. Crimson already knew her way around but was checking which of the few access points she had was best.  
“We have an insider. He’s been watching the studios and we think we know where Gee is although he’s heavily guarded night and day with not only guards but motion tracking and god knows what else. Won’t be easy.”  
“Nothing ever is. I know central ops is here….we should check there as well in case we can find any case files, any sign of what they have done to him.”  
Crimson stabbed her finger onto the map and then pointed to the hospital. Another safe bet for information. Rainbow made notes, trying not to think about the objections some of the other killjoys had raised about the two of them going alone at least on this part of the mission. Mob handed might seem safe but it would draw attention.  
“I’ll go meet up with the informant if you want to sniff around there. You remember Toxic Monster right ?”  
Crimson thought back, the kid with multi coloured hair that had made some interesting raids more interesting didn’t fit with undercover work but she had been out of the loop for a while so anything was possible. She was surprised any of the old guard were still alive, life expectancy was not something many of them had.  
“Yup, good kid.”  
“Excellent spy. Now works for the Scarecrow Unit and Korse.”  
Rainbow giggled again at the smile that appeared and the two women started to pull out weapons and the equipment they would need to get into the city. A new desire to fight was now fuelling both of them and they worked in a companionable silence until Crimson went up to the wall, lifting down the green and yellow guns from their places before looking at her friend.  
“Seems only fitting that these come too.”  
Rainbow lifted Ghoul’s gun up to the light before placing it next to her own. Crimson slipped Party’s into her jacket and tightened up the collar of the stealth suit. Both now wore the stealth suits, primed and ready to help them disappear into the city and its inhabitants. Rainbow also noted that her friend no longer wore a mask, unwilling to hide amongst their own either. She would have to talk to her friend about the death sentence that still hung over her among the killjoys but now was hardly the time as Crimson looked towards the door.  
“You ready ?”  
“Let’s go bring home Party Poison.”


	5. Chapter 5

Crimson had found there was an art to being unseen.  
The stealth suit was pre-war tech, hidden in a military bunker until Party and the gang had gone looking at the height of the war with BLI. There had been others, ones that conducted electricity, ones that had inbuilt propane systems to allow the wearer to throw fire, all of them useful and utilised in the war but her own favourite had been this one.  
It deflected light itself, bending it around the wearer so that nothing but an occasional shimmer could be seen. Crim watched Rainbow disappear into the milling crowd of people and droids, only able to see her progress because she knew what to look for before turning towards the BLI headquarters.  
She walked without hurry, sidestepping the crowds and only pushing when it was able to be dismissed by the target as movement from other people. She kept her breathing steady and her movements controlled. It was easier than most people would think to tip off that sixth sense that tells someone when there is a person behind them or watching them. Crimson knew that drawing attention to herself in even the smallest way would risk attracting the dracs and had helped Rainbow get reacquainted with the intricacies of invisibility before they had climbed up the grate and into the city. The car was hidden below, one of many access tunnels where cameras and drones could be rerouted away from what BLI did not need to see.  
Now she headed towards the labs and tech offices of BLI, the great white and glass fronted buildings dappled by artificial sunlight as they moved into the early part of the afternoon. Crimson was glad of the suit, she hated the artificial perfumed air of the city, remembering how they had destroyed the original city in nuclear fire and foolishly believed it was all over. She waited until a drac strode towards the door armed with a passcard and then followed him through the door and barrier, noting the security cameras and guard dogs. That was more tricky, they tended to spot things that humans didn’t and she stilled as one of the huge animals looked in her direction. Precious seconds ticked past as she held her breath, the pain it caused in her throat was starting to burn when the animal finally looked away and she moved quickly, using a grey clad woman to get into one of the lifts that headed up towards the records offices. Crimson wasn’t sure what she was looking for but anything remotely connected to where Party had been for eighteen months would be a start, something to tell her if Kobra, Ghoul and Jet were still alive…  
Crimson walked carefully through the secretaries and office workers, listening to the drugged chatter and watching all the fake smiles. The whole place was setting her teeth on edge and she looked at the motivational posters and piped in news on small television screens, all promoting BLI, all telling people that abdicating their lives was a good thing. Despite her differences with Rainbow and the Killjoys, Crim would never believe that. She ducked into the rows of files and found her way to the section that catalogued dead rebels and the undead who became dracs. The cameras above turned at the movement but would register nothing and it was easy enough to magnetise them and move them to look at the corridor, she would have twenty minutes before anyone came to fix them.  
She opened the screen log and clicked on the dropdown, trying not to concentrate on the fact that she knew too many of the names on the files. Midnight Ride, Violet Detonator, Grey Ghost…all of them gone and all of them forgotten. Her hand stayed as she reached the bottom and the four she was looking for. If Crimson was honest there were reasons why she had never come into this building and this was it. Morgue photos, autopsies, it was all here along with a catalogue of their past deeds. Every minute since the bombs fell till they walked into the city that last time.  
Crim clicked on Ghoul first, she needed to know if the others were alive or if they would just need to find Party. It was strange to see his face again, the half smile that Ghoul always wore even in his mugshots made her think of his giggle, the hot temper that would end in a hug and all the times his bombs and weapons had saved her ass. She kept scrolling, down and down until she hit one word.  
EXTERMINATED  
She blinked back tears and took a deep breath.  
Kobra Kid….  
EXTERMINATED  
Jet Star……  
EXTERMINATED  
Crimson checked through the files again but frustratingly there was nothing to say where Gerard was and she didn’t want to have to tell Rainbow that the others were gone. A foot note caught her eye, just a small line of script at the bottom of the page.  
BODIES SENT FOR REPROGRAMMING  
Hope bloomed, so maybe they were alive but much like Party, Crimson wondered if they would even remember who they had once been. She doubted whether they would remember their original names, even Kobra if they had in fact been resurrected. If that had been BLI’s plan then the brothers would surely have been unveiled together. She plugged in a memory stick and downloaded the information, planting a virus in the system to cover her tracks before checking the time on the display of the stealth suit. Maintenance would be along to fix the camera, she needed to go.  
“Crim, you got anything ?”  
Rainbow’s voice sounded tinny in her ear and she answered quietly, even her normal whisper muted as she moved silently over towards the exit. More and more people were moving around and there was an aroma of coffee and cakes that made her mouth water.  
“All four are tagged as exterminated but there is a note about reprogramming so maybe there is hope.”  
There was a pause, Rainbow seemed to hesitate before speaking again.  
“Any idea where ?”  
“No. You have anything ?”  
Crimson skirted near the rest room and set her eyes on the exit that would lead down to the outside. It was so easy to get paranoid about others seeing her even though she knew that they couldn’t, it was psychologically inbuilt and she could feel a bead of sweat running down her cheek.  
“We know where Gee is but he’s heavily guarded and never alone. To get to him we will need to draw him out somehow.”  
“Meet me at the car.”  
Crimson ducked out into the corridor, never seeing the man behind her or even realising he was there until she found herself pushed into a tiny cupboard, the heat of his body behind her and one hand forced up behind her back. She stamped down on his foot hard and threw her head back, trying to smash his nose before she saw a half reflection on a mirrored bucket surface and stopped struggling. Still he held her tight, Crimson managing to slam her palm against the wall and turn off the suit. With one hand she pulled the hood back and half turned so that he could see her face and she could properly see his. Both stopped moving and stared.  
He looked so different, the blond gone from his hair and it was shorter, his natural dark brown. Crimson remembered him this way from the distant past, it was like looking at a ghost, the tall and gangly boy with thick glasses who had followed his brother into glory, war and finally death. The glasses were back, the white shirt and black tie didn’t hide the man that she had known and loved.  
“Mikey….”  
Mikey smiled, taking in the short girl and noting the changes there too. Her eyes were tired, the carefree smile gone and he saw the vicious scars that ran across the right side of her head before reaching out and pushing back the black bangs from her face. Crimson, herself a ghost of the woman he had known since they were both kids in a halcyon pre war world.  
“I saw the suit, can’t mistake that shimmer. You came for Gee right ?”  
“And to look for the rest of you. Rainbow is here too, we thought you were dead for the last eighteen months.”  
He frowned, his world had narrowed down and he only remembered the last two months with any clarity. Whatever conditioning they had used had failed but he had been careful not to let anyone know it. He would work from the inside, they had been careful to keep him well away from his brother and deny that the two were even related. He had only seen Gerard on tv.  
“They can bring anyone back Crim, problem is keeping them docile. Gee and Ray won’t know who you are let alone agree to come with you.”  
Crimson winced, that had always been likely but it made the mission so much more difficult.   
She contented herself with stroking his face, his arms going around her waist as he hugged her tightly to him. He was warm and alive, something that she realised she had long been missing. He could think of nothing but making BLI pay, of getting back to his family and the mission. Kobra Kid would ride again. Crimson pulled away and looked up at him.  
“What about Ghoul and Jet?”  
“You know Frank. He won’t bend and he won’t break. They’re keeping him in the dungeons below the medical units. How much longer they will keep him alive I don’t know. Ray is in the science block and he’s like Gee, he doesn’t know who he is.”  
Crimson felt a flicker of a smile cross her face and Mikey broke into a rare grin, the thought of Ghoul railing against anything and anyone was so reassuringly familiar that it gave them both hope. Mikey checked his watch, he would need to get back to his desk before the end of his scheduled break so as not to arouse suspicion.  
“C’mon, I got the car under the city. We can leave. Just follow me out.”  
Mikey shook his head, gently pulling the hood up and tucking her hair inside it. It was a gentle, almost erotic, gesture. They had shared many things over the years including his brother and had always been as close as natural siblings. He knew she would not like what he was about to say.  
“If I leave now they will know and that means we will never get to the others. I am more use working from the inside here. Go and get Frank, save Ghoul and use him to rally the Killjoys. When BLI retaliate they will take their minds of Gee and Ray and we can attempt a rescue.”  
“Fuck. I don’t….”  
He silenced her with a kiss, hard and fast before pressing a key card into her hand. It would enable them to communicate and contained the passcodes to get her into the labs above where Ghoul was being imprisoned. He had learned enough from Jet back in the day to make sure that nobody could listen in. Seeing her here had lit a fire in him and for the first time Mikey believed that they could pull this off and save his friends from a fate that was definitely worse than death. He opened the door, glancing back only once.  
“Save Frank and keep running.”


	6. Chapter 6

Frank couldn’t remember what day it was.  
Or what year.  
In fact, most things came and went through his head depending on what level of pain he was in and how much hope he had. When they left him alone or the painkillers and sedatives kicked in he could think that he was back at the diner, lying on the roof with his head in Rainbow’s lap. They would be talking about anything except the war and Party would be there too…Crimson….Kobra…Jet…all of them. Those were the better dreams. The painful ones made him watch them all die over and over.  
My name is Fun Ghoul, I am a killjoy.  
He shifted a little, the fresh pain in his arms making Frank open his eyes and look around blurrily. Everything was quiet so maybe it was night time. He wouldn’t be able to tell, there were no windows and the echoing sounds told him he was underground somewhere in the heart of Battery City. He had been here since they resurrected him, that much he knew. Sometimes he thought the others had been here too but he really couldn’t be sure. The interrogators said that his friends had accepted BLI and become rehabilitated but Frank would never believe that.  
My name is…..  
His mind went a little numb as he looked down painfully at the new bruises that marked his torso. They had gone a little hard this time and it hurt to breathe. They told him that all the Killjoys were dead, that his Rainbow was dead and had died cursing his name. Frank remembered his rage at that point, the awful thought that it might be true was too much for his mind to take sometimes but he reminded himself that he was still alive so they must need him for something. He had spat in their faces and cursed them, laughing even when they had tried to convince him that the ginger haired man they showed him was Party, made Gerard again by the miracle of BLI.  
Frank let himself rest, his eyes drifting shut as he listened to the noises in his prison. The dracs guarding him never spoke or looked his way, they left that to the interrogators, always young men in pristine suits who let the guards use their fists while they did the talking. He was not afraid of them, he was more afraid that he would remain here until the pain broke him and he would end up as a mindless drone himself. Dying had been painful but easy, he would take it every time.  
My name is Frank Iero, I am a killjoy.  
The pipes clanking disturbed his slumber and he realised he was thirsty. They had left a little food and water before the latest beating but that would have been hours ago and now it was likely there would be nothing before morning. Whenever that happened to be. There were scuffling and noises from outside and far away, he guessed that another prisoner was in for a bad time but couldn’t seem to care. That thought triggered a little guilt as for all he knew it could be Gerard screaming now in the distance but he was thirsty and couldn’t exactly go and look. He twisted and tried to see if the walls were moist with condensation, sometimes that saved him from raving and begging when the thirst got too much. Tonight it seemed, Frank was out of luck. He cursed under his breath and strained against the chains a little more. Never give up on getting out, when they get complacent you have to take your chance Frank…  
A new sound came to his ears, someone was in the room outside his cell, he could hear footsteps and things being moved around. He listened a little more intently and then held his breath as the door silently opened. This could be bad, another long session of questions and cajoling when he was tired and wanted water was the last thing he thought he could stand. He considered trying to fake sleep, maybe there would be a chance they would lead him alone.  
Which was when he realised that the footsteps were now in the room and he couldn’t see anyone. They were near him and he jolted back as fingers drifted against his face, his mind frantically searching his memory as to why he remembered this, why this had happened before to him and Frank shook his head. It was so frustratingly close as he felt the hand again and half screeched in fear. Someone else appeared in the doorway, a dark clad figure with a hood over their face.  
A great arc of electricity arched from the figure’s hands into the camera and all the lights flickered before it settled again, small drops of fire illuminating her face as the woman was revealed. Frank gaped, he knew her, there was no mask over her face and the sardonic smile never changed and he must be dreaming. It happened again, a shimmer of light going in front of his eyes before another figure appeared in front of him. He shrank back as this one too revealed her face and then he started to almost scream.  
“I….it can’t be. You can’t be her. I won’t tell you fucking nothing, you HEAR ME !”  
“Frankie, calm down. We don’t have much time.”  
Rainbow couldn’t keep the smile from her face despite how much it hurt to see him so frightened and chained like an animal. She uttered soothing words to him and grabbed her flask, trickling water over his lips and face as Frank continued to mutter and try to pull away. She had searched the drac outside for keys and now unshackled him, half laying him on the floor as Crimson strode through the outer door again to lay the explosives. The battery pack on the charge suit was almost dead but it had disabled the cameras and door long enough to get Frank out. After that the charges would do the talking.  
It had taken them three days to get to this, Mikey’s pass key had been invaluable. On their own they would have been looking in the wrong place and even then there had been arguments about them going alone. Very few people trusted Crim and to be honest, they were right to not give her that courtesy.   
“Three minutes Rain. How you doing Frank ?”  
Frank just stared, he finally began to believe it was real when they helped him to stand and get into the second stealth suit, both women remarking he had lost an insane amount of weight. He took them in, seeing fresh marks of battle but fuck of all of them it was the girls that had made it. He winced in pain, his arm over Rainbow’s shoulder as she helped him stand and he smiled broadly.  
“I feel like shit. How long ?”  
“Eighteen months. We need to leave but as soon as we are in the car I will explain.”  
He nodded, one hand pulling Rainbow’s lips to his. She paused, letting herself enjoy the briefest of kisses before he ran his fingers down her cheek as if to check that she was real. Rainbow kissed him a little harder and then pulled their masks on and everything shimmered. Frank stumbled, his legs unused to walking as they headed back out into the smoke filled corridor. Crimson checked her watch before helping Rainbow drag Frank to the manhole cover and the ladder that led down. Once this part of the mission was done BLI would know that the killjoys were fighting back and she again regretted Kobra’s insistence on staying put.   
It felt like forever before they were back to the car and Frank was laid across the back seat. He was drifting in and out of consciousness and Rainbow had covered him over with a blanket as the ceiling above lifted and dropped, the muted roar of explosives telling them that someone had tried to open the door. Both Crim and Rainbow wondered why this was so easy, back in their heyday they would never have got into the old Battery City but now it seemed BLI had got a little complacent.  
“You know they will step up security now.”  
Rainbow nodded, glancing back at Ghoul and taking in the exhausted man that still looked impossibly young. Frank had never seemed to age and it made it worse to think how long he had been down there without them knowing. She felt a little guilt that they had wallowed in self pity and infighting instead of doing this sooner.  
“And the arguments will begin as to who we go after next. Neon and the council are pushing for an all-out assault and that’s stupid. They never listen.”  
“We go after Ray like Mikey said. Then we can get his help to get to Gee. Anything else and we get slaughtered.”  
Crimson had noted that her friend was a little bitter at the arguing that had gone on. It had been a great victory the last time they had attacked a city but the numbers had been different and they had been fortunate to have four secret weapons. The old guard was being replaced by a recklessness that she both admired and found annoying.  
“We do what Mikey said.”  
The tired voice from the back had a certain authority that caused them both to look back. Frank smiled, the feel of fresh air on his face stung but to smell the breeze and see the stars above had made him realise that despite it all, they were alive. That his friends were still trapped, that it seemed like BLI had been telling the truth, was starting to make him angry. He sat up painfully, reaching for a bottle of water as he looked at the two women.  
“Tell me everything.”


	7. Chapter 7

Dr.D paused at the door and drank the sight in.   
It was something he had believed was lost, the council had fallen into new hands and although he loved them all it had never been the same. Now there was something in the air that approached hope and it had come in the form of the man in the seat at the head of the Council. He had insisted and nobody had argued, once Frank had been seen back in the familiar green and yellow, his raygun under his arm and the Frankenstein mask parked on the side of his head.  
“We have very little time. They wanted all of us for some unknown reason and now I am back on the outside we don’t know what that will mean for the others.”  
There was a pause, all of the group taking in the fact that Fun Ghoul had returned to them from the grave and the tantalising news that the others were still alive. Not only Party but Kobra and Jet. It had sent a wave of hope and fresh buzz through the killjoy community and it was that which Rainbow wanted to build on. She sat next to him, it still felt like a dream to feel his arms around her and to hear his voice and it was hard to focus as he listened to the various reports from around the zones.  
“Have we heard from Kobra?”  
All eyes turned to where Crimson stood leaning against the back wall. She still kept herself apart and Ghoul had been horrified to learn second hand of the reason for the new scars on both his friends. He wanted to hear it first hand and slap them both but he knew that could wait. The photograph of Gerard had appalled him, to see his best friend and lover as a grinning shell of his former self was something he couldn’t take in and it had been that which had spurred him to attend the meeting despite the pain and disorientation he was feeling.  
“No. Not since we freed you but they are bound to be watching them closely so it could be he can’t get clear enough to call.”  
“And Toxic?”  
Neon half raised a hand, entranced like all the others to see Ghoul return from the dead.  
“He’s watching Gerard and listening for any command to act. If they try anything he’s still too outnumbered to interfere.”  
A rise of voices greeted this. There had still been the arguments about raiding the city now they knew that the men were still breathing. Ghoul himself had pointed out that the numbers were too small to try that, Rainbow adding that it could mean Korse pulled the trigger on their friends before they even got close. It had got heated and Dr D now turned his attention to Crimson, her face impassive until she caught his eye and winked. He smirked, never quite able to reconcile her loss to his cause anymore than losing the boys.  
“Shut the fuck up and listen.”  
Their heads turned, Ghoul hiding his smile in his coffee mug as Crim looked at the group.  
“You’re both right in a way. We need to go get the others but we don’t have the numbers to do it upfront. So we use what we have. Mikey has a tracker on his phone, we point Toxic to follow it. If Korse is going to attempt to move the guys then he will use the Scarecrows. We get into the city and find them via the Stealthsuits. You guys create a diversion elsewhere and draw troops away from the city.”  
There was a silence, Crim knew that a good percentage of the room wanted her dead as much as Korse and wondered even now whether attempting this was a good idea but Party’s face in her head said she was going to find him or die trying. She glanced at Ghoul, the same resolution on his face as Neon and Fairy raised their voices to be heard.  
“You think Korse will move them?”  
“You trust HER?”  
Ghoul shook his head as the room descended into chaos. More than ever he missed Party and the way he could hold all the egos together. They couldn’t fight BLI while they were fighting themselves, it just wouldn’t work. He pulled himself painfully to his feet, both hands resting on the table in front of him as he shouted to make himself heard.  
“HAS IT COME TO THIS?”  
A silence immediately fell, all eyes turning to the angry man before them. Frank was sick of this shit, sick to his stomach of seeing how their deaths had torn his family apart. It had to end and end now if they were to find his brothers and bring them home.  
“No more infighting, no more bullshit. I want to storm in there like the rest of you but it won’t work and I won’t risk their lives again to appease some hot headed fucks who don’t know what total war means.”  
A few of the younger killjoys dropped their eyes, only Crimson and Rainbow now wearing broad smiles at the resurfacing of Ghoul’s temper. Most of the killjoys had only ever seen his humour and not the driven and somewhat hard man beneath. Frank was a good man but Ghoul could be a demon.  
“Crim’s plan is logical and whatever problems have arisen while I’ve been away can be addressed AFTER we get the guys home.”  
Ghoul continued to stare around the room until everyone nodded and he looked over to where Dr D continued to keep watch. There had been a long discussion with the DJ about a way of provoking the enemy and now he told them the plan.  
“Tomorrow night Dr D is going to get Toxic to patch us back into Battery City.”  
He paused, letting this sink in. Even Rainbow looked a little surprised, they had not tried to tap into the media system of the new city since the boys had died and she didn’t know that it could still be done. Dr D had been keeping the news close to his chest, waiting for just the right moment to spring this surprise.  
“I am going to tell them I’m alive just as Gerard is and send them the message that we are not dead and that we are coming for them.”  
There was a massive swell of cheering and clapping, the feeling again running through the killjoys that now they could once again come out of the shadows and actually strike a blow at BLI. Crimson nodded, seeing the plan within the plan as Rainbow allowed a small smile to cross her face.  
“You’re going to force them into trying to move Gerard.”  
Ghoul nodded, his smile purely for her as he looked at the others.  
“Yes, we want them to think we are attacking in force. I suggest a couple of squads strike as we send the girls in. Toxic has already been briefed. If we are really lucky they may bring the three of them together. If so, having Kobra ready to help to is also an advantage. If anyone can break the programming it could be Gerard seeing his brother.”  
Crimson was now on a high, this would work and she could get them close as long as Toxic could keep broadcasting and once in the city, they would be able to contact Mikey if needed. She picked up a bottle from the table and took a swig before realising that several of them were staring at her. One of the older ones, Black Mercury was in the front, they had long since hated each other. Crim being responsible for her lovers death didn’t exactly help.  
“After the rescue, there has to be a trial.”  
“Don’t worry, I could die in the rescue.”  
Rainbow winced at Crimson baiting the angry section of the crowd as Ghoul started to giggle. It was all too familiar and the pain started to abate a little as he settled back into his life. Being dead had been fine, being tortured not so much but now he felt things were right again and that included the first hot rush of desire flooding his system as he looked at Rainbow. He had never wanted her so much and it took an effort to turn his attention back to the confrontation.  
“We can discuss this after. You have my word.”  
Mercury nodded slowly and the room started to empty. Ghoul allowed the exhaustion to take over and sat back down. Instantly Rainbow had a hand against his forehead and she gazed anxiously at Dr D.  
“Does this have to be so soon, he needs to rest.”  
“I’m fine.”  
“You are not!”  
Dr D and Crimson shared a hug, the moment making them feel as Ghoul had done. Things were getting back to how they should be and what mattered now was bringing the others home. After that they could go after BLI proper.  
“I am, I need to do this.”  
Rainbow sighed and kissed him, his hands stroking down her back told her his thoughts and she knew she could never let him out of her sight again. For now though, he needed her support to stand and both Rainbow and Crimson supported him as they headed back up to the radio station near the top of the club.  
Again it was time for goodbyes as the girls went to get suited up. They were going to plant the message in the zones so everyone outside could tune in. Ghoul watched them go, setting his watch to three hours on the timer. He knew they would have no contact now until the plan was initiated and he allowed himself to hope that Party, Kobra and Jet would be with them when they returned. Rainbow and Crimson needed time to get into the city and the squads needed time to prepare.  
“Now then Dr….”  
Dr D grinned at the huge smile on Ghoul’s face as both men turned their attention to the consoles in front of them. They were on the clock, less than twenty four hours to work a small miracle and it was time to make some serious noise.


	8. Chapter 8

Gerard wiped his face clean with a sigh and fought down the feeling that he was being humiliated on purpose. He glanced up at the red light, glad to be off air and free for the night. He could go back to his apartment, sleep, dream….  
“Great show Gerard, very entertaining.”  
He managed a weak smile at the director of the show, aware that Lola was lurking and silently demanding his return to the centre of the city. Sometimes the creature steered him towards Korse’s office after shows, in case the boss wanted to talk to him or rather check up on him. The feeling of being trapped had been worse since the last vision, more than once he had thought he saw the women in the crowds and he had dreamt more than once of being a child and playing with a smaller child, a brother.  
“Ratings are great and you’re booked with Lola at the school district on Monday.”  
“Okay, anything else?”  
The man blinked at the hint of irritation and mentally noted it to tell his superiors. He had orders to report anything approaching aggression and he had noticed how tired Gerard looked. There were rumours circulating that killjoys had been in the city although the authorities denied it and he wondered again about why they had resurrected a known criminal. Swallowing it all he plastered a smile on his face.  
“Nope, have a good night now.”  
Gerard grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair and followed the pink form out into the corridor, his head rang with its tinny voice. Korse was concerned, he looked ill and had asked the doctors to come take a look in the morning. Inwardly Gerard winced and nervously ran his hand through his hair. He had avoided telling the shrink about the dreams and had explained away the incident in the bathroom as a side effect of the medication he had actually started flushing down the sink.  
“Home now though Lola?”  
“Why yes, you need to sleep and prepare for your singing slot on BLI news tomorrow.”  
He nodded numbly, trying to remember why singing felt so good but also so wrong at the same time. Maybe Korse was right, he needed to change medications again maybe or take the vacation to the New Vegas resorts that he had been promised.  
“I will need time to rehearse.”  
The cat like creature nodded as they left the building and stepped out into the city proper. Even at nine at night it was kept pleasantly warm and crowds still walked the pristine streets. Through the dome he could see the glow of sunset in the distance, at high summer it seemed to blaze all day and he wanted to feel the heat on his skin even if it meant going outside.  
Gerard allowed himself to daydream as they walked across to the metro station. It was a twenty minute ride back to the apartment but for once he was in the mood to linger and he silently informed Lola of his need to shop and maybe even have a meal out. The creature nodded, it was programmed to ensure that Gerard assimilated back into the population and that included leisure activities. It hovered at his shoulder as they entered the pankcake house and settled in.  
“Black coffee and blueberry pancakes please.”  
The waitress was a pretty blond and nodded with a shy smile. Gerard wondered idly whether she would go home with him before realising that he was actually more interested in staring at the dark haired guy with a good ass who was sitting at the bar. He instantly dismissed it, he liked girls and girls only. Anything else was a corruption and not to be considered. Blushing, he went back to staring out of the window.  
The plaza was full, news reports relaying the BLI message from a set of huge television screens that dominated the open space. People looked at them as they returned hme, drugged minds accepting the sanitised and bland presenters that gave them news from all over the former state and further afield. He watched them, office workers in white, manual workers in grey, security and scarecrows in the familiar masks. It all seemed unreal, a state somewhere between reality and dreaming. Gerard was more than a little grateful when the waitress reappeared.  
“There you go sir.”  
He nodded his thanks and settled back, the familiar odour of good coffee going some way towards easing his mind. Thoughts of the week ahead crowded in until a loud noise caused him to look outside. Everyone had stopped at the sound echoing from the plaza speakers as the screens showed nothing but static. Gerard put down his cup, a frown crossing his features and he was on his feet and outside before he realised he had even stood up.  
He knew that tune.  
He had heard it before and it was important.  
Lola was beside him, pushing the crowds away as everyone stopped moving and stared up at the huge screens. There was a sense of unease, even the dracs were not ushering people away and again Gerard knew why.  
It’s the old National Anthem. They are programmed to stop for it.  
But BLI had not played that tune in decades.   
Someone else uses it.  
His frown became a silent scream as the screen flickered, bright colours crossing it until the picture steadied and the crowd stepped back, almost moaning as they recognised the logo behind the man on the screen. Gerard stared, the man’s face was hidden by a grotesque mask, Frankenstein came into his brain. He wore a green vest, a yellow and black striped jersey and Gerard knew now that this was one of the men from his dream. From the hell that had been his other life. The man raised a tattooed hand and pushed the mask up, revealing a handsome face framed by tousled black hair. He fixed them all with a steady gaze and Gerard registered that his eyes were hazel.  
“Greetings Battery City, you missed me? It’s Fun Ghoul returned from the dead to tell you that killjoys never die. You might think you wiped us out but noooooo. Your leaders lied to you. All four of us were revived and now walk among you. Sure they may have wiped memories and altered our looks but we are what we have always been. Your future, your past, a free life.”  
There was a pause, detonations in the distance shook everyone and screaming broke out among the populace as sections of the city shook and exploded. Gerard couldn’t move, not even when Lola grabbed his arm and pulled hard. His eyes remained fixed on the screen as the man continued talking.  
“So now we are coming for you all. We killed BLI once before and will do it again. This goes out to my brothers, Mikey, Ray and Gerard. We are going to bring you home. Kobra Kid, Jet Star and Party Poison will ride again.”  
The man on the screen cracked into a cheeky grin.  
“Oh and Party, Crimson is driving your car.”  
The screen went blank, sirens wailing as the BLI broadcasts broke back in and showed the devastation in the commercial and security districts. They also flashed to checkpoints where brightly clad figures exchanged laser fire with dracs. The presenter spoke in calming tones, the scum were being wiped out, do not panic, all is well.  
“We need to go to the boss.”  
Gerard flinched as Lola’s silky voice echoed in his brain and he allowed himself to be steered through the crowds, two scarecrow officers falling in next to them. He couldn’t think, he could hear nothing in his head but the man’s voice and an irrational anger about someone touching his car. He didn’t have a car. He wasn’t even sure that had been addressed to him although it made sense somehow. They hurriedly entered the tall white spires of Scarecrow Headquarters and into the lift.  
Silence continued up to the top floor, the sounds of the city lost although Gerard could see the glow of the distant fires and could smell the smoke. He had started to shake, fear mixed with something else as they stepped out into the main office. Korse looked around, a thin smile on his face.  
“I’m glad to see you are safe Gerard.”  
“What’s happening, what’s going on, who was that man?”  
The android didn’t blink at the near panic in the pale man’s face. He had been anticipating this since Iero had escaped and his superiors had made the facts clear. The experiment was over, there was nothing left to do now except termination. Another door opened and Ray was pushed through, his white coat stained with red from where the drac had pushed his head into the lift door. He stared at the man in the blue suit uncertainly, both of them having vague feelings of kinship before another door opened. A scarecrow pushed forward another man, this one tall with glasses and a young face. He looked alert and suspicious, something flashing across his face as he looked at Gerard. There were now a room full of people, the dracs gone and replaced with scarecrows, weapons drawn.   
Korse looked at the three men, none of them had expressed recognition and he knew that some of the elders favoured continuing the trial but had been overruled.  
“I am sorry gentlemen. Your friends are attempting a rescue but all they will find is what they found before. Corpses.”  
There was a sound of chambers being loaded and Gerard closed his eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

Time seemed to freeze.  
Gerard waited for the pain that didn’t come, his eyes blinking open at the flash of laser fire that didn’t hit him but the scarecrow holding the weapon to his head. A hand pushed him down to his knees, something in his head making him crawl to where the bushy haired man was cowering against the wall. Both watched as Korse screamed and pointed his gun at them before arching back, an arc of electricity seeming to form around him and he shook and wilted in its grip.  
The room was full of smoke, the scarecrows seemed to have fallen on each other, one of them clearly had an advantage with a weapon the likes of which neither man had ever seen. Gerard could only stare, noting that the bespectacled man had reacted quicker than himself, grabbing a weapon and taking down two scarecrows with well aimed shots. He smiled briefly at Gerard and he found he was smiling back, something in him immediately trusting the boy as he tried to make sense of what was happening. The sense of disorientation increased as there was a massive shimmer in the air in opposite corners of the room, two human shapes in all over black suits appearing as if out of one of his nightmares.  
“Toxic? Kobra? You guys ok?”  
“Fine, check on Gee and Ray.”  
The scarecrow pulled off his mask and hugged the boy briefly as one of the black suited figures went to work on the terminal and the other came towards the two frightened men. The hood slid back and Gerard felt the scream stick in his throat. The woman was dark haired, not quite as his dreams had shown her but the same face, the same eyes which now seemed to hold tears as she crouched down to look at him.  
“Hi, don’t panic. You’re going to be fine and we’re taking you home.”  
Ray lashed out, catching the side of the girl’s head and she sat back with a curse before lashing out with one booted foot. Ray’s already bleeding temple hit the wall and he blacked out, the girl turning back to Gerard with an apologetic smile.  
“Jet always did have a nasty punch. Do you know who I am?”  
“N..no…please, I can’t go back out there. BLI saved me, I must stay here…”  
Toxic shook his head, it was playing games with his mind to see his mentor a broken man who didn’t realise he was talking to the woman he had loved. The other suited figure pushed her hood back and planted a virus into the security systems that would take out every camera from the building they were in to the dome above. She glanced down at the android and gave Korse another burst with the EMP device. Rainbow didn’t want to look across and see the pain that her friend would be in at Gerard’s words.  
“BLI want you dead, its over for you here. Come on.”  
Gerard tried to resist but Crimson hauled him up and pointed him at Kobra, as much as it pained her she knew that he would not remember their love but he might remember his brother. She crossed to Toxic and they armed the doors, prepping the lift to take them back down into the sewers below. They were on the clock now, the fires and the attacks outside would only give them a small window of time. The two of them managed to lift Ray into the tiny elevator, Rainbow squeezing in too as they glanced back to where Mikey and Gerard stood facing each other.  
“Her name is Crimson, the other girl is Ghoul’s woman, Rainbow. Ray was and will be Jet Star again. Our spy is Toxic and I am Kobra….or Mikey if that helps.”  
Gerard blinked.  
“Mikey….I know that name.”  
Kobra nodded slowly and reached out his hand cupping Gerard’s cheek.  
“You should, you’re my big brother and best friend.”  
Gerard froze, again the dreams and visions assaulting him as he started to shake. He didn’t want any of it to be true but he could picture the little boy who he had protected and adored. His little brother, always there when he needed someone….that was something he found he couldn’t deny and he stared at the man in front of him afresh. Mikey could see it was working, a small spark of hope as he smiled.  
“Trust me.”  
Gerard nodded and let Kobra push him into the lift. Crimson tried not to notice his body pressed up against hers and resisted the urge to rest her head on his chest. The lift began to descend, Rainbow reaching into her suit to hand Kobra back his red gun which the tall man accepted, his fingers running along the familiar weapon.  
“You found it.”  
“Crim rescued all of them and some other items you may want back.”  
Toxic glanced down into the city, the streets still in turmoil. The hardest part of the mission was still to come. Rainbow and Crimson could disappear but they needed to get Gee and Ray through three floors of the enemy to reach the sewer entrance. Mikey had already figured it and had pulled a scarecrow mask for himself. He stripped off his shirt, both Rainbow and Crimson wincing at the scars that marked out the wounds that had killed him as he put on the t-shirt the other man handed him. Kobra returned the red gun to Crim and reloaded the white one he had taken from the scarcrow, looking down at where Ray was coming around.  
“We walk them out, anyone asks we are taking them to a safe location as per Korse’s order. The girls can keep the way clear. Gerard, keep quiet yes?”  
Gerard nodded as Toxic hauled Ray to his feet. The tall man still looked half unconscious and didn’t protest but the spy was taking no chances. Somewhat apologetically he handcuffed Gerard and Ray, adding gags to complete the illusion. The doors opened to a scene of chaos and they shuffled forward, the shimmers lost in the crowds as the two disguised killjoys pushed their friends forward. It was both a rush and terrifying, rescuing the two most wanted men in the city from under the noses of BLI’s best.  
Not that the two men considered it a rescue as such. Ray was waiting for his moment, refusing to listen to the nagging voice in his head that recognised the other people as people he had once known. Gerard was just confused, wanting to trust the man he knew was his brother but terrified of becoming the man he had once been.  
Crimson scouted ahead, tripping another fire alarm so that the floor started to empty and they could head down the next stairwell in amongst the crowds. Rainbow kept an eye on the signal jammer that was keeping them safe and the red dot that would tell her that Korse had awoken and all bets were off.  
Still their luck held, the swell of white suited bodies leaving them at ground level, the invisible figures making sure that the alarmed doors to the basement levels were switched off so that Toxic could get them through the barred doors and down into the cooler air. Now the masks came off again, the girls reappearing as they dragged the two men along. Gee noted that they didn’t uncuff them or release the gags and wondered if they really were killjoys or just some weird flashback that would see him loaded with pills and gibbering in the corner.  
“Sorry about this.”  
Rainbow kissed both men on the cheek, driving home a syringe full of sleeping agents into their necks. Kobra caught Gerard on the way down, both Toxic and Crimson catching Ray. Carefully they loaded the precious cargo into the white BLI van that was parked behind Rainbow’s Mustang. Kobra nodded, glad that he could now forget about his friends inadvertently raising the alarm as he looked at Rainbow.  
“What’s the plan?”  
“You and I will go back to the Crater for Ghoul and Dr D. Crimson and Toxic are taking the boys to her bunker in six. Its safe and secure, perfect for us to start trying to help them remember who they are.”  
Toxic rubbed the back of his neck.  
“Amazed the council agreed.”  
Crimson smirked, grabbing Kobra in a long hug before looking at Toxic.  
“They didn’t want to but Ghoul is in one of his break your face moods so they sort of had to. Plus the council are the last people we want around Gerard right now.”  
All of them noted the slight hint of annoyance in her voice and Kobra wondered ruefully just how much trouble she had got herself in while they were away. He ruffled her hair, lifting Crimson’s chin so he could take in the scars before glancing at Rainbow.   
“You’re gonna have to tell me all about your mischief later. We need to go.”  
Crimson winked, hugging Rainbow on the way past and allowing herself to feel the euphoria of seeing Gerard again, alive and not sliding down that wall time after time on the huge screens. She would get him back, get revenge for all that had happened since and enjoyed the thought as she settled in next to Toxic.  
Things were about to get very interesting.


	10. Chapter 10

“How are they?”  
“Physically not too bad although both will hit withdrawal pretty soon. We could get a medic here to help with that.”  
Ghoul nodded slowly, leaning against the door frame as his eyes roamed over the two men peacefully sleeping in front of him. Now it felt real, Kobra back beside him, the glasses abandoned for contacts and the yellow stripy shirt and jeans back on the lean figure. His friends looked so young, Gerard in particular had the frailty back that Ghoul remembered from before the war. He wondered if it would be polite to stare forever.  
“A medic would be good. How are you Kobra, really?”  
Kobra turned to look at his friend and shrugged, his usual poker face somehow reassuring.  
“Better now. Been trying to find a way to get to them and you for months.”  
“I thought you were dead. All of you.”  
There was a moment of silence, both men united in the memories of dying that were best not dwelt on for too long. Instead they hugged and Ghoul smiled, his grin widening as he glanced at where Ray had begun to snore. Another reassuring sign that some things just never changed.  
“Mind you, if Rainbow and Crimson hadn’t been trying to kill each other it may have happened sooner.”  
Kobra stared, the shocked look on his face reducing Ghoul to tears of laughter as he filled his friend in on what he knew of the events from rumours and Dr D. Kobra had the same reaction as Frank, the pair of them needed spanking and then kissing hard for managing to survive at all. It would have been easy to have let the killjoys die with them but somehow Rainbow had kept it together while Crim had just gone on the most violent rampage in modern history.  
“I fucking knew we should have locked that one in the trunk of the car.”  
Frank shrugged with a grin and prodded Kobra’s arm. Gerard had sat up and was now looking around the underground room before looking up at both of them. There was fear there but something else that approached curiosity. He glanced across and then back at the two men in the doorway.  
“Where am I?”  
Kobra came into the room, Ghoul remaining at the door as he sat next to Gerard.  
“Zone 6. Crim’s bunker. How do you feel?”  
“Ok I guess. My head aches.”  
Ghoul nodded, he would have to send Toxic back to fetch a doctor. No doubt the comedown from all the crap BLI had filled his friends with would be bad, his mind going back to when Kobra had forced Party to sober up by dumping him in the desert for a week and a half. Couldn’t really do that again.  
“You were kept on a cocktail of drugs, the next few weeks could be uncomfortable but we have a medic we are going to bring out here.”  
Gerard nodded, a vague memory of detox came into his head although the word made little sense. His brother looked even more familiar now and he was getting flashes of something concerning the other man. He looked closer at him and tried to smile.  
“You’re…..Frank.”  
Ghoul’s face lit up and he nodded eagerly, Gerard’s smile growing at the sheer joy in the shorter man’s expression. Kobra was smiling too and Gerard remembered the little boy again before another thought hit him and the smile fell away.  
“I’m not him….I’m not the other one.”  
“Party?”  
Gerard shook his head violently and shivered, flinching as Kobra tucked a blanket around his shoulders. Clearly the conditioning was going to be hard to break and Ghoul fought to keep his voice calm. Crimson had been right, they couldn’t take Gee anywhere near the other killjoys until he recovered.  
“Don’t worry about that now. All that matters is that you are safe.”  
Gerard closed his eyes, not wanting to face up to the demon images of his former self that now reverberated around his brain. It fought with the other side that said yes, you are safe and you are home. Next to him on the other bed Ray started to stir.  
“You kidnapped us.”  
“Hi Ray, yeah I guess we did.”  
The tall man stared at the two killjoys, unsure how to take the cheerful remark from the shorter one. He had a nagging feeling that he knew them and the man on the other bed who looked to be in shock was on the television a lot in Battery City. A kids entertainer of some sort.  
“You can’t just do that.”  
Kobra shrugged, he knew that Rainbow was behind him, her hand on his ass as the other snaked around Ghoul’s waist. Gerard tried to place her and failed although he thought she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen despite the interesting scar that snaked across her features. She winked at him and waved at a bemused Ray.  
“Hi guys. There is hot food and coffee upstairs if you feel up to it.”  
Gerard’s head came up at the word coffee and Ray realised he was hungry. He was trying to work out if eating with your kidnappers was wise but it was unlikely they would be kidnapped and then poisoned. He carefully got to his feet and all the men followed Rainbow down the corridor. Ghoul spotted Toxic in another doorway and told him about the doctor, the young man quickly headed back to try and raise Dr D as the others climbed up two flights of stairs.  
“This place is huge.”  
“Crim has been here a while I think. You had better ask her about it but I think there are about eight levels.”  
Rainbow watched the uncertainty cross Gerard’s face and then chuckled as the sound of Crimson singing rather badly along with the radio floated down the hallway. They found her sitting on the counter in a large kitchen with a huge mug of coffee reading the latest issue of Shiny. The picture of a naked man on the cover made Gerard wince.  
“Tuck in, its all hot.”  
Crim tried not to look at Gerard too much, it simultaneously hurt and pulled at her that he didn’t remember her and she wanted to let him have time. Ghoul kissed her cheek and pulled Rainbow onto his lap as she passed around plates piled high with eggs and dog meat fritters. She decided not to tell Ray and Gerard that bit, they may have got used to actual food in the city. Kobra didn’t miss a beat, grabbing a plate and Crimson’s ear at the same time. She squeaked in pain as he sat down.  
“What’s this I hear about you killing everything that moves?”  
“You were dead, I got bored.”  
Ray giggled at the disarming smirk from the dark haired girl as Kobra let go of her and she took the last chair. Feeling that introductions were in order the redhead introduced herself and Crimson to Ray and then asked them both how they were feeling. There was a little small talk, the atmosphere around the table a little strained as the two newcomers tried to get used to their captors.   
“Crim, I got Toxic raising us a doc, do we need anything else?”  
Crimson shook her head, the bunker held everything they would need for at least a month and she wanted as few people to know where it was as possible. Ghoul could see that she was trying not to look at Gee as much as he was trying not to look at her. He hugged Rainbow a little closer, trying to ignore the voice in his head that said they would have each other and a double bed for the foreseeable future.  
“What do you want from us?”  
Ray’s question hung in the air, the faint hum of the generators the only sound as Kobra tried to think of a good way to word it. He didn’t want them to panic or see their friends as enemies but at the same time he couldn’t lie about it either.  
“We died. BLI resurrected us and implanted conditioning in the hope that they could use us to destroy the killjoys and free thought in the zones forever. When word got out that Gerard was now rehabilitated it gave the girls the first hint that we were alive. They rescued Ghoul and then came for us.”  
“No. We were saved from you.”  
Crimson stirred her coffee, a note of steel in her voice.  
“It feels like that to you now but you know they were going to shoot you in that room right?”  
Even Ray couldn’t argue with that and Gerard had forced himself to face up to it. BLI wanted him dead, these people wanted him to be a killer again and he seemed to be stuck in the middle. All Ray knew was that they had forced to flee to the very criminals that BLI had promised to save them from.  
“So now what?”  
Kobra sat back in his chair and stared at Gerard.  
“We help you remember.”


	11. Chapter 11

Rainbow poured another cup of herbal tea and let the exhaustion flow over her.  
It was week three of detox, the zones were buzzing above them as BLI searched for the killjoys who had been ordered to disappear, even the Crater Club was empty as they went undercover in the villages and dusty towns of the Zones. It was a smart tactic, let chaos reign in the city and prepare for the counterattack. Rainbow thought of Missile, safe miles away on a farm that was beyond the range of camera flies and wondered again how to break it to her that the boys were alive if and when they could make it out there.  
Of course that depended on the occupants of the bunker and so far it was enough that they could keep Gerard and Ray comfortable as their bodies purged themselves of the cocktail of chemicals that the enemy had used to keep them docile and to make them forget. The doctor from the club, a sweet faced young man known as Archangel had told them that the best they could do was to use as little medication as possible to help them ride it out. Sleep, water and light food was the order of the day and so far it seemed to be working. There were now more memories inbetween bouts of sickness and chills, fevers and deliriums that had kept their friends working around the clock to keep the two men alive.  
“You okay?”  
Rainbow smiled, the gentle kiss against the tattoo on the back of her neck was enough to make her relax against him, Ghoul’s arms wrapped around her waist as he enjoyed just holding her. They hadn’t had much time together, the council needed her to keep them and the DJ updated, Ghoul himself had needed to rest and heal from his injuries and malnutrition. They had shared a bed and each other’s warmth but thoughts of anything else had been pushed back. Until now as far as Ghoul was concerned, he felt better and just watching Rainbow was now getting him a little hot.  
“I’m fine. Crim’s finally gone to sleep and Kobra and Toxic are now with the guys.”  
“Really? So we’re alone right now with no interruptions for the next five hours?”  
She turned, Rainbow loved the cheeky grin that accompanied the desire in his voice and she could do nothing but pull him closer to her and enjoy the warmth that flooded through her.  
“Yes and what are you thinking?”  
Ghoul could say no more, one hand working into her hair as he kissed her hard. Rainbow moaned, she had never been able to move on from his death and there had been no other men. Now it felt like she had been dead too and was only now breathing again as she almost clutched him to her, his lips moving from her mouth to her neck and the sensitive point below her ear that he knew was a weak spot.  
“You know what I’m thinking. You, me and that bed if we make it that far.”  
His voice was husky with need and she was almost running to keep up as they raced down the corridor and the two flights of steel steps to the sleeping quarters below. It was exciting and somehow they both ended up giggling as if being caught would somehow be a big deal. Ghoul locked the door behind him, his eyes firmly fixed on her as she turned back to him.  
There was silence, he leant back against the door and folded his arms. The smirk on his face now was one of a predator and she shifted at the immediate heat in her stomach. There had always been that edge to their relationship. He wanted her submission and Rainbow ached to give it to him, slowly removing her shirt and jeans as he watched unmoving. Not that it wasn’t having an effect, Ghoul knew he was almost panting and couldn’t hold back a groan as she removed the last of her clothes.   
Rainbow knew there were new scars on both of them, waiting patiently as he walked to her and ran his hands over her shoulders, down to the fullness of her breasts and the swell of her ass. He was gentle, almost reverent as he kissed her again, soft fingers tracing the scar on her face. His eyes were a mix of love and rage, his voice in her ear as he held her and those fingers stroked along her back.  
“You two should never have turned on each other. I know it must have been so hard….”  
“Frankie…”  
Ghoul kissed away her tears and sat her on the bed. Now it was Rainbow’s turn to watch as he stripped. The sight of the laser scars made her wince and go to him, both of them now naked and trembling. She kissed down the scars, his eyes fluttering closed as she knelt before him. He let out a shuddering breath, quickly growing hard in her hand as she kissed his thigh and smiled up at him.  
Rainbow knew Ghoul was beyond words, his head tipped back a little and his eyes closed. She continued to watch his face as she licked up his cock, her lips swirling around the head as he gave up trying to hold it in and moaned her name. His fingers had worked back into her hair and he forced her head down, the sweet taste of him flooding her senses as she sucked him a little harder. Ghoul found he was holding his breath with her, the feeling probably the most intense that he could remember.  
It would get too much too soon and he wanted more. Ghoul needed to possess his girl again and erase every memory and nightmare. Dying, returning, the beatings and torture, he could forget all of it as long as her hands were stroking him, her soft voice telling him that she had never stopped loving him and never would. He lifted her up, his eyes meeting hers, his face momentarily serious.  
“Death couldn’t part us Claire. Nothing can, not ever.”  
“No more dying Frank.”  
He giggled and grabbed around her waist, Rainbow laughing with him as they tumbled onto the cool sheets. Soon they were twisted and so were those sheets, legs and arms wrapped around each other as he kissed every inch of her, saving her sweet pussy for last and wetting lips and fingers as it was her turn to shiver and buck under his touch. This pleasant exploration of familiar bodies lasted a long time, both of them savouring the rediscovery until he couldn’t bear it anymore. He needed to reclaim her and she knew it, laying back as he parted her legs with one knee and his head dropped to her breasts.  
Rainbow couldn’t see anything but stars, the momentary pain as he pushed inside her was almost as sweet as the pleasure of finally joining their bodies.  
Ghoul couldn’t get enough, the heat of her pussy devouring every inch of him and the taste of her nipple on his tongue as she pushed her hips up against him. He pinched her nipples just to hear her gasp and then pinned both hands above her head. There was a soft growl as he plunged deeper into her and Rainbow gasped, the feeling causing her eyes to open and she locked onto his gaze.  
The universe had ceased to exist, there was no war, no BLI and nothing but the pair of them and the tingling nerve endings as he let her hands go and lifted her hips. Rainbow wrapped her legs around his hips and pulled his face back to hers, kissing him hard, tasting him and hearing him moaning louder and louder as he fought not just let go and cum in her immediately. Ghoul needed to feel her cum, he had always found that the intense spasms around his cock when she cried out lead to the best orgasms of his life and when you had slept with Party, that was saying something.  
Rainbow could feel how badly he wanted to cum, his face caught up in an expression of pure animal desire as he pushed harder and harder. She loved that look, his hands clutching her ass and lifting her a little more until suddenly he had found that one special spot and she almost screamed, her body launching into an explosive orgasm that seemed to course up her spine and into her brain. Ghoul gave a throaty chuckle at forcing it from her and finally let himself go.   
Rainbow caught him as he collapsed, both of them sweating and still feeling the deep core driven pleasure as they simply held each other. The sounds of the bunker were slow to break in and the cooling air condition was so soothing that both drifted away into a deep sleep, the wounds of war starting to heal in both of them. Ghoul’s last thought was that he had to make sure that Crimson got this feeling back too, that he could somehow bring Party back to all of them.


	12. Chapter 12

Gerard sat on the end of the bed and considered things.  
He felt better, the fever and chills finally clearing his system had made him hungry and Ray had brought him a loaded plate and they had eaten together before he disappeared back to help the kid they called Toxic with the radio. He no longer looked like the suited up scarecrow, his hair was back to a myriad of colours that Gee kinda liked and he thought again about his conversation with Ray as they had talked together.  
“I can remember being….him.”  
Ray nodded.  
“Me too, I get flashbacks to it and then being in the city.”  
“So it must be true, we must have died. Then been brought back and left in the city.”  
They sat together in silence, the implications were not good for the still deep seated belief that BLI were the pure and honest ones. The killjoys were filth, scum that were trying to destroy the perfection of the city. That glaring contradiction was making both men feel a little sick.  
“Doesn’t mean we have to be those people again. We could escape.”  
Gerard glanced at Ray, confusion on his face at the broad smile on the other man. He hadn’t considered that, there could be a way to make it back and explain to Korse that they had been kidnapped against their wills. Ray had said that it could be done, they just needed transport.   
“They talk about Crimson and a car. You could ask her.”  
“N-no, I can’t. She wouldn’t tell me….”  
Ray had told him to consider where his loyalties lay and left, if he could get control of the radio then maybe he could raise BLI. Gerard had stayed put, thinking through what Ray had said and why it bothered him to talk to the girl. She was beautiful, he knew that and knew that when he had been the other one they had been together. That made talking to her awkward (he was ignoring the desire that rose in him) and he could hardly just drop it into conversation that he knew about the car. Or could he? Did he even want to? His brother was here, he felt safe for the first time ever and felt that he belonged. Still he knew that BLI were right and order was needed, control….fuck, now he could feel a headache and at first didn’t look up when he realised someone was at the door.  
“Hi…”  
Crimson tried not to wince when he looked up.  
“Hi. Thanks for lunch.”  
She chuckled, coming to sit opposite him. Crim had decided they needed to talk so that at least they could look at each other and maybe the awkwardness would fade out. Gerard looked at her, a short girl with elfin features who didn’t look like the killer she was. He liked looking at her and smiled.  
“I don’t remember the scars. Who did that?”  
“Rainbow. We got in a big fight and I cut her, she shot me. Accidently she claims.”  
Gerard gawped as Crimson giggled and the ice thawed a little.  
“Remind me not to get between you two.”  
Crimson nodded, almost feeling that she had seen a little of Party in him at that moment. He and Kobra had always been the ones to pull apart any altercations and they had pulled all of the others out of bar fights at one time or another. She felt the pull of the past again and looked back up into the familiar eyes.  
“This is all a little weird.”  
Gerard nodded, something like sadness flitting across his mind.  
“You loved him.”  
“I loved you. Long before you became Party Poison, back when it was just Gee and Lily. Then the war came along and everything changed for all of us. Looking at you now is like going back in time.”  
He hadn’t considered this, blooming curiosity about the man before the killer. Was he more like that Gerard? Could he be that person and not kill but live free with his brother and the people he was coming around to seeing as friends? His mind flashed back to Ray and he nodded.  
“They keep talking about you and my car?”  
Crimson giggled and reminded herself to murder Mikey next time she saw him.  
“Well it is unusual when a man loves his car more than the woman who sucks his dick.”  
“Jesus what was wrong with me?”  
Both of them were laughing helplessly, Gerard found he didn’t want to turn her in and made his mind up that he wasn’t going through with the plan. Ray could find them another way or go back to BLI under his own steam. He looked at the keys now dangling from her fingers and then back at the seductive smile.  
“The others would kill me but you fancy going for a drive?”  
He nodded and she grabbed his hand, the spark that went up her back at the contact made Crimson wince but all of a sudden all that mattered was getting out of the bunker for a while. Gerard followed her up to the main room and out, all of the others busy at various tasks. Crim sometimes scouted so Frank didn’t find it odd when the Trans Am pulled away. He didn’t see Gerard.  
“This car is fucking amazing.”  
The wind picked up as Crimson floored it, the desert opening up in front of them as the car roared and sped on. Gerard loved it, the feeling of wind in his hair and the sun on his skin was amazing. Crimson was only wearing a t-shirt, the heat baking into her was the greatest feeling and just to have him beside her was something she had never thought to have again. For an hour they just drove.  
“I had forgotten this feeling.”  
“Nothing beats this, the city can shove it. Live free Gee…”  
She gave him a dazzling smile and he turned the radio on, music blaring out added to his excitement and she was right, this was living. He let himself remember this, the positions reversed and him driving as she sang along beside him, his hand on her thigh, hers on his and that thought made him swallow hard.  
“Fuck!”  
Crimson could see the patrol ahead and they were outnumbered, badly. If the dracs saw the car they would come after them and probably call reinforcements. Gee looked terrified, hanging on for grim death as she t-boned the car and sped back the way they had come. Her eyes remained fixed on the rear view mirror and her voice was tight.  
“Back seat, in my jacket.”  
“What?”  
“Guns. If we want to get home we may have to fight.”  
Gerard was shaking, reaching into the back for her jacket. It was heavy and held together by string, bandannas and bits of metal. He could see the black gun in there and put it on the dashboard, reaching back as his fingers brushed something else. He grasped it and pulled, his face paling as he looked at the object in his hand.  
A bright chipped yellow gun, decorated and worn but comfortable in his hand.


	13. Chapter 13

The Trans Am sped on, gaining speed but the chase was on and Crimson was starting to get worried. With Kobra or Ghoul beside her there would have been a fighting chance but she could see Gerard was terrified, he was ghostly white and staring at the gun in his hand. She checked the dial, the engine roaring at ninety and tried to think of a solution. Gerard couldn’t think at all, his mind blank.  
“We can’t outrun them or go back to the bunker.”  
“Then what do we do?”  
There was a hint of hysteria in his voice that bothered Crim but she forced her voice to remain calm and scanned the horizon until she spotted a mass of crumbled buildings. She swung the car in that direction and checked the mirror again.  
“We fight.”  
“I can’t.”  
“Then you get to die all over again.”  
They didn’t speak anymore, both considering the implications as Crimson swung the car behind the ruins and further into the complex. It was impossible to know what the jumbled remains had been but it provided cover and her mind was picking out high points that could swing the advantage their way. She killed the engine, leaving Gerard there was she popped the trunk and reached inside for the armoury that the Trans Am carried.  
“You just going to sit there?”  
Gerard shook himself and climbed out the car, Crimson now carried a bag of grenades and a modified laser rifle which she handed to him with another magazine. Grabbing the last weapon, her favourite, Crimson pushed him towards some steps up onto a parapet that overlooked the road below. It was crumbling and he had to take careful steps until he reached the ledge.   
“Can we do this?”  
Crimson turned, her hand reaching out to push his hair out of his eyes.  
“No choice but to try Gee.”  
“Guess not.”  
He lifted the gun and stared at it. Gerard could almost feel it calling to him, he had used it before and he had killed before. Now Crimson was right, there was no choice left but he still didn’t know if he could. The dizzy sick feeling of vertigo combined with seeing the cars heading their way made him grab the masonry for support.  
“That’s it, come to mama….”  
Crimson had almost forgotten he was there, caressing the heavy rocket launcher and waiting for that one sweet spot to come. She had got used to taking people out from a distance, a skill required if you wanted to live for very long alone in the zones. It took patience, something she didn’t have much of, but she was still alive.  
“Any moment….NOW.”  
Gerard dropped the gun, blocking his ears as the rocket exploded out in a shower of sparks. It was a high velocity round, pre war and starting to decay which just meant it packed an extra punch. The lead vehicle was obliterated, blowing itself into shards of super hot metal that speared the one behind so it exploded too. Crimson giggled in delight, already reloading as Gerard picked up the gun and looked at her.  
“Fuck!”  
She nodded and winked at him.  
“Holy fuck baby.”  
The second shot she aimed lower, using the rocket to flip the first car onto a third. Another two were behind and Gerard watched anxiously as she reloaded. There was a whistle from below and the masonry opposite exploded outward causing both of them to duck. Crim grabbed the laser rifle and took out the drac holding the grenade launcher. Another grabbed it and she reached for Gerard’s collar, pulling him down as it sailed over their heads and into the hollowed out building. The concussion shot up huge amounts of dust and both of them were momentarily blinded.  
“They’re in the building. Don’t move.”  
Gerard nodded, wiping the dust from his eyes as Crimson drew her gun and grabbed the rifle. She hopped over the debris and swung into the stairway, her gun shooting out bright laser fire into the dracs below. Answering rounds caused her to disappear from view and suddenly he was alone. It was terrifying but Gerard found the gun was back in his hand and he forced himself to crawl forward and try to follow.  
More laser fire seemed to be coming from everywhere and he couldn’t see Crimson, just white suited figures that ran and then fell in smoke. His mind exploded, he and Kobra back to back, Ghoul running towards them, Jet grabbing Missile and…..Korse, the gun under his chin.  
Bright lights.  
Darkness.  
Pain.  
Rebirth.  
Gerard screamed, anger flooding his system and suddenly he was on his feet and running. The gun in his hand came up, firing left and right as the dracs turned to face the whirlwind of his rage. Crimson was on the floor, a smoking wound in her arm and a drac pointing a gun at her head. Gerard obliterated him, seeing the shock on her face as he used the butt of the gun to smash another over the head. The fallen laser rifle was picked up and he adjusted to the new weapon, the remaining dracs now turning to run at the nightmare reborn.  
Silence finally fell and he dropped the rifle again, the yellow gun going into his waistband as he shrugged off his jacket and removed his shirt. Crimson couldn’t say anything, his muscled arms in the white vest were something she hadn’t remembered and she watched, still slightly in shock as he tore it into strips.  
“Take the jacket off. We need to stop the bleeding.”  
Crimson complied, gritting her teeth as Gerard washed out the wound with their remaining water and bound it up with the strips of shirt. He was still remembering, the past painfully clear to him and with it something else. When he was satisfied, he lifted her chin and smiled, searching her face to see if she could see it too.  
“I remember.”  
“You do?”  
“Everything.”  
Crimson blinked, his lips suddenly on hers and the pain fled. Her arms went around his neck and he pulled her to her feet never breaking the kiss. Party couldn’t believe he could have forgotten his Crimson, there was so much that had been stolen from him and now, thanks to her and Rainbow and his boys, it was time to get it back.  
Breathlessly, Crimson pulled away. She laid her head on his chest and they stood, holding each other tightly and surrounded by the enemy dead. It was familiar and she never wanted this moment to end, he had found his way back to her.  
“I love you Crim, I should have stayed in bed that night.”  
“It doesn’t matter now, you came back to me Party.”  
He smirked, the grin that was reserved just for her and kissed her again hard. This time his hands found the keys in her back pocket and she giggled, obviously there would be no more driving his car. They gathered up the weapons and walked hand in hand back to the car, Crimson reloading the trunk as he pondered.  
“Oh, we need to get home. Ray hasn’t broken yet and he’s going to try and sell us out.”  
Crimson blinked, the pain was blooming in her arm and now Party was telling her that their best buddy was going to bring BLI down on them.  
“What the fuck?”  
“Whatever they did to us is nasty shit. C’mon, I got a plan.”  
Party gunned the engine, his hand sneaking onto her thigh as Crimson settled into the seat and the Trans Am thundered back out into the Zones. This time its rightful driver was behind the wheel and ready to unleash hell.


	14. Chapter 14

“I can’t believe she took him out in the Zones in THAT CAR!”  
Ghoul paced, nervously watched by Ray and with rather more amusement by Kobra. He didn’t think Ghoul wanted to wake Rainbow and tell her that Crimson had had a typical Crimson moment and gone out to do something insane.  
“Calm down. Six is quiet these days and she’s not stupid.”  
Ray glanced over his shoulder, wondering if he could get back to the radio set up as Toxic stuck his head around the door. The bunker had been in uproar when Ray had discovered Gerard missing and Frank had put two and two together. They had been gone almost four hours now and all of them were starting to get a little concerned.  
“Crim doesn’t exactly practise common sense.”  
“She is with Gerard, you seriously think she would put him in harms way?”  
Kobra knew he’d won as Ghoul nodded slowly and they both turned to where Toxic was now grinning. Rainbow was at his shoulder and it was pretty clear by her expression that she had heard the tale send of the conversation.  
“You let them out?”  
A number of heads dropped like naughty school boys.  
“Relax, the car just pulled in.”  
Toxic was nearly buried under the rush out the door and wrapped his arm around Ray’s shoulder, forcing the tall man to follow the others back up the various sets of stairs and into the main room at the top. The bank of television screens showed the Trans Am and it seemed to be empty. They heard voices in the tunnel and Gerard appeared, tailed by what appeared to be a wounded Crimson. Ghoul glared at her.  
“I knew it. You could have been killed and…”  
His words were cut off as Gerard grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled Ghoul into a kiss. Kobra raised his eyebrow at Crim who simply grinned and nodded. All of them felt the shiver of excitement as Ghoul stared at his friend in shock who simply winked.  
“Hi honey, I’m home.”  
“P-Party?”  
Ghoul stared as Party leaned in and kissed him more gently before reaching for something behind him. Rainbow grabbed Crim and started inspecting the bloodstained bandage. Everyone was talking at once, Kobra grinning the widest of them all as his brother grabbed him in a bearhug before turning to Ray.  
“Ray, I know I said I would get the car….”  
Ray’s face fell, the others gasping and then getting a little concerned as a bottle had appeared in Party’s right hand. Crimson put a hand on Rainbow’s shoulder and shook her head, Party had explained this and she trusted him. Ghoul and Kobra tensed as Party advanced on a very pale Ray.  
“You’re not gonna turn us in Ray, no way. You don’t wanna lose that other eye now do you?”  
“Gerard! C’mon!”  
Ray found his back against the wall, his mind racing to the incident before the last fight, the drac that had cost him an eye. He flinched back from the advancing man, everything in him wanting to run as the pain behind his eye grew bigger and bigger. Party could see it was working and smiled nastily.  
“Last chance.”  
“FUCK YOU PARTY!”  
Ray’s head came up and he kicked Party soundly in the nuts. Their leader went over with a pained laugh and Crimson shook her head as Jet realised that he had broken through. He looked around Party’s head in Crimson’s lap as Ghoul shrugged and slung his arm around Rainbow. Kobra remained poker-faced and glanced down at his brother.  
“Gonna explain that?”  
Party got back up and hugged Ray before turning back to the others.  
“The conditioning works on what you’re most afraid of. For me it was losing someone in a fight like I lost all of you. When Crim got shot it was enough to help me break through. I knew the bottle incident would do the same for Jet.”  
Rainbow nodded, it made sense but Mikey looked confused.  
“So why didn’t it work on me and Ghoul?”  
“You’re the most stubborn person I know and Ghoul has more balls than brains.”  
Crimson collapsed in giggles, combined with the blood loss she immediately passed out as Rainbow hugged Jet and Ghoul promised that Party could check that fact later. Kobra picked Crimson up and carried her downstairs to dress her arm properly as Toxic was filled in and more coffee was made.  
“So what now?”  
“Contact the council and call them in. Just them while we plan a strategy.”  
Party sipped his coffee and Ghoul rubbed a hand against the back of his neck. He didn’t know quite how to tell his friend that the council was not as they had left it. The numbers were less than they had ever been and true victory seemed a long way off.  
“It’s not like it was. They fight amongst themselves.”  
Party smiled at Rainbow, his hand stroking hers across the table.  
“They’re young and dumb like we used to be.”  
“Can’t deny the dumb part.”  
Kobra smirked and poured a coffee as he sat down.  
“You ain’t getting your leg over tonight bro, had to sedate her to get it stitched.”  
There was a pout that caused some amusement as Rainbow got Party up to speed with all that had happened. He had the same reaction as Kobra and Ghoul to the fight that had caused the scars and Jet threatened to drown both of them if they tried it again. Rainbow assured them that the past was just that.   
“You’re back, that’s all that matters.”  
Party shook his head.  
“No. What matters is that we get the killjoys back out there. The new guard have a lot to learn and not much time to do it. Once all four of us appear in the Zones you know Korse will send out the cavalry.”  
Ghoul tapped his fingers on the counter.  
“There is another option.”  
“What?”  
“One of us goes back into the city. They think the conditioning has failed on one of us, it might draw them out.”  
Toxic and Rainbow immediately protested. Going back into the city was too risky now that the programming had been broken. Kobra was more interested, he knew that Party would immediately volunteer but that was something he wouldn’t allow and he leant forward.  
“I’ll do it. Out of all of us they thought I was under the most.”  
Party looked aghast.  
“No.”  
“He’s right, no.”  
“Absolutely not.”  
Kobra sat back, his easy smile now amused as his three brothers shook their heads in unison. He would let it slide for now but his mind was already working overtime as the conversation continued around him. The night hours came and still they talked, more coffee being added and an agreement finally reached.  
They would go back to the Crater Club and meet the council.


	15. Chapter 15

The Council had come together.  
Ten killjoys once again rather than the six that Rainbow had kept together and the four originals sat along the top of the table. Jet loaded the blue gun, his eyepatch back in place as he glanced at Kobra next to him. Kobra was more interested in his coffee cup which was heavily irished thanks to Crimson and occasionally borrowed by his brother. Party leant against his shoulder, his hair now black and the familiar tight jeans and jacket back in place. Ghoul was next to him, his hand clasped in Rainbow’s who sat to his right.  
Dr D was there too and beside him sat Neon, not a member but here to bear witness.  
The other members numbered two the boys knew and two they didn’t.  
Amber Dragon and Bright Blade were old friends, they had been in the remains of Boston when the boys had been killed and had raced home to help Rainbow deal with the chaos. Ghoul was glad they were alive, Bright remained the tow headed blond kid he remembered who had trailed Amber for months until she had agreed to go out with him, now they were among the most formidable fighters still alive.  
The DJ introduced the other two men. Nitro Noise was a big man in every way, well muscled and over six foot tall. He had proved himself the night Battery City had fallen the first time and Party was quietly approving of him having a place on the council. The other man was an unknown quantity although he had been extremely useful to Rainbow, Phantom Fox lived up to his name. The boy was gangly and quiet, Party noticed the watchful eyes and remembered that he was a spy.  
“Where’s Crim?”  
There was a silence, Party narrowing his eyes as Bright spoke.  
“Party….Crimson isn’t even a killjoy anymore. She’s been killing everything that moves and is….”  
His voice trailed off and Party put his feet up on the table, his voice amused.  
“Is what?”  
“Ummm….under sentence of death by the Council.”  
Party roared with laughter, Kobra still keeping a straight face as Jet looked bemused and the others wary at the stares coming from the newer members of the group. Clearly they had expected him to take it a little more seriously. Rainbow rolled her eyes and glared at him until the laughing gave way to hiccups.  
“Party, the gunshot fucked her up a bit more than you think.”  
“I’ll talk to her but we need her, fucked up or not so this whole death sentence thing can wait.”  
The tone broached no disagreement and Ghoul quickly sent Neon to check just where their erstwhile friend was as they listened to the Dr explain the numbers. There were still killjoys in the Zones but not enough to do what Bright, Amber and Nitro wanted to do.   
“We should go into the city now, strike them down.”  
Ghoul winced, Jet looking a little annoyed as Nitro continued.  
“We can do it, go for the generators or something. Blow the place like you did.”  
“We don’t have another nuke and to be honest that was luck.”  
Party drummed his fingers on the table.  
“We also don’t have the numbers, casualties were horrific that night.”  
Nitro slammed his fist onto the table.  
“Then what? I’m sick of running Party, we need to hit back and now that you’re here people will rally to the cause again.”  
Kobra looked up, his voice soft.  
“We will. I am going back in.”  
Everyone stared, Rainbow still shivered at the thought although there had been no talking him out of it. Party had tried everything but Kobra had forced them all to agree that he was the logical choice to go back and work undercover to get them into the city and take it out from within. Didn’t mean any of them liked it anymore than Kobra himself but it gave the killjoys a chance. Fox spoke up, his eyes alight with possibility.  
“You think Korse will take you back in.”  
“Absolutely, I can feed them some information that will point them in the wrong direction and continue looking for weak spots. I was onto some good stuff when we got pulled out.”  
There was agreement around the table and Party looked to the Dr.  
“Meanwhile we send recruiters and killjoys out to the Zones. We cause trouble again and draw BLI out like the old days. We look for any way to be a pain in the ass while we train fighters and get the townships back on side. You guys up for that.”  
Bright and Amber nodded.  
“We can take Zones three and four.”  
“Fox and I will take Five.”  
Jet nodded and looked at Ghoul.  
“Leaves us to handle one and six.”  
Party stretched, seeing Neon waving from the door frantically and already knowing why.  
“Okay, me and Dr D will start getting us out on the airwaves. Lets do this and aim to have Kobra back in the city by next week. I want to make sure everything is in place before he risks that obstinate ass of his.”  
The conference broke up, Neon grabbing Party by the arm.  
“Crim started a fight in Hedonism. She’s not doing so well at it.”  
“She’s only got one working arm and no brains. Rain, can you and Ghoul give me a hand?”  
Rainbow giggled and nodded, Jet and Kobra already out the door and heading down to the bottom of the club. No way did they want to miss Crim and a fight, it tended to be spectacular. Ghoul was suspicious, usually Party hated her fighting but this new version seemed completely unconcerned.  
“Party, You okay?”  
The crooked grin appeared.  
“I’m horny as fuck and there is only one thing that will shut the bitch up.”  
Ghoul shook his head and followed Party as they made their way downstairs. There were few killjoys around, most were still in hiding as per their orders but the bars also catered to the townsfolk of the Zones and it was three of them who were trying to hold a spitting and kicking Crimson down as she tried to grab the broken chair she had been using as a weapon.  
“Fucking pussy bitches! Let me up and fight like men.”  
Party wandered over, one hand on his gun which made all the people step back. He looked lethal, the hazel eyes shrewdly clocking the numbers as Rainbow and Ghoul came up at his shoulders. Jet and Kobra stood by the door and the atmosphere stilled and froze as Party picked up the bourbon and took a slug.  
“Let her up.”  
“She broke my friend’s neck, bitch should hang.”  
Party placed his gun on the bridge of the man’s nose. He was shorter than the man who held Crim’s hair but all of them could see he would have no hesitation in pulling the trigger if not obeyed.  
“Last warning. Let Crimson go and fuck off.”  
The man decided not to take the chance and they pushed past the killjoys as Party helped Crimson to her feet. His girl was a little drunk, mixed with the sedatives and a headache it had made her short tempered and now she could see he was not happy. Rainbow just sighed and glanced at Ghoul.  
“Some things never change.”  
“No, we’re outta here. Good luck Crim.”  
Kobra and Jet joined them in leaving, the bar now as empty as most of the Crater Club as Crimson sat down heavily on a bar stool and waited to get yelled at. To her surprise Party didn’t seem angry, he merely checked her stitched arm and poured them both another shot.  
“You okay?”  
“Should have stayed in bed but you weren’t there and I got bored.”  
“The council has descended into over eager kids who want to die.”  
Crimson glanced at him, a half smile on her face.  
“You finally got over the martyr thing?”  
Party smirked and pulled her into his arms. He had been thinking it through and blamed himself more than her for what had gone wrong. Crimson had been right, they had walked into a trap that night and for what? They got Missile back but set the fight back by a long way and BLI had grown stronger. They had to be more subtle, cleverer, hence his reasoning in letting his brother go back into the city.  
“Dying does that. Makes you realise that the cause isn’t everything.”  
Crimson pushed his hair back and kissed him gently.  
“Good because I can’t watch you die again. Now let’s go to bed.”


	16. Chapter 16

“If we lose this bet…”  
“Relax Crim, we ain’t losing this bet. Now pass me the dynamite.”  
Crimson rolled her eyes, removing the lollipop from her mouth with one hand and passing Rainbow a primed pipe bomb with the other. They were perched on top of a listening post in Six and getting ready to blow it to fuck. Being currently behind in the Bang Bet was not a good thing when the losers would have to streak across Zone One.  
Rainbow twisted the cap and used her lighter to spark the fuse before dropping it into an intake pipe. The pair scrambled down the ledge and waited, counting to ten as Ghoul had instructed them. The explosion when it came was deafening, the top portion of the concrete unit lifting itself up as smoke and dense amounts of dust filled the air. Crimson pulled the gun from her belt and scampered forward, taking out two dracs who were staggering into the fresh air as Rainbow came down beside her and lobbed another improvised pipe bomb through the doorway.  
The fight when it came was one sided and soon Crimson was stripping drac corpses of guns and ammunition as Rainbow wired the rest of the bunker to blow. They had found some maps and instructions, adding to the haul from a week of raids. So far Nitro had been right, the kids of the villages and even a few from the city itself had clamoured to join up once Party had appeared on the big screens. BLI were promising death to the killjoys on every screen in the Zones and so the chaos began.  
“So I wanted to ask you something…”  
Crimson turned, tossing a watch to Rainbow as her friend grinned.  
“Ask away.”  
“Party seems different, not so serious.”  
Crimson discarded the lollipop stick and nodded.   
“He’s lost the urge to die for the cause. Been there and done that.”  
“Ghoul’s gone the other way, he’s even more determined to wipe BLI out.”  
Rainbow grinned as Crimson mock stuck a finger down her throat and pulled up the bandanna. Party had persuaded her to go back to hiding her face, his charm offensive on the other killjoys meant that she was a little more accepted. Rainbow had enjoyed being back on the road and having fun, meeting up with the guys when night fell to compare tallies and hear the news.  
The pair reloaded the Mustang and headed back out onto main road. Six had come alive, the pitched battles increasing as the populace watched and hid. The Trans Am had toured in One, going up as close to the city as they dared while the Mustang ruled Six. Their friends were doing the same in the other zones and establishing a training school. Ghoul and Jet had been having a lot of fun showing the youngsters how to shoot and the bombs and tech that would be needed to defeat the enemy.   
All in all, the Killjoys were back.  
Rainbow took up position in the rear, her aim better as Crim’s arm was still healing. That meant the driving was erratic and fast, music roaring to compete with the engine. They had to cover a lot of ground and had two more targets to hit before they could get back to the bunker. It had been a week and the tally of damage was enough that Kobra had been able to talk his friends into putting the next part of the plan into action. Tonight he would return to the city.  
“Bikes at three o’clock.”  
Rainbow turned, picking out the white high powered bikes on the horizon. They had obviously seen the car and were gaining speed. Crimson snarled and hit the accelerator, drawing the Mustang to a higher speed as they headed towards the abandoned building that hid a drac rallying point. This was the next target and it would be easier to hit both enemies at the same time.  
Bright bursts of laser took down a bike, the wheels splintering as they cornered sharply and Rainbow took a moment to reload. The rally point looked deserted but neither woman wanted to risk it and slammed the car into a building a good distance away. They could hear the bikes and quickly grabbed the weapons from the boot and sprinted for cover close to the main one. A drac stuck his head out as the bikes roared to a stop and a short conversation took place. Crimson primed the rocket launcher, Rainbow loading a grenade slingshot that Jet had made for her as half a dozen more enemy appeared to start searching for them.  
“This will make us even. You know Party ain’t gonna manage that oil dump…”  
“You said that about the aerial Crim….”  
“Pfft, he’s a lucky fucker.”  
Rainbow smirked as Crimson fired the rocket, the high powered round speeding into the door of the ramshackle building. The dracs screamed and tried to run as the building blew and Rainbow fired two grenades into the bikes that added to the conflagration. Nothing escaped, everything burned and they managed to catch a sneaky selfie as proof to show the boys.  
The drive home was quieter, Rainbow taking a turn at the wheel so Crim could change the bandages on her arm and catch a nap. They were both tired and glad to see the hidden bunker entrance. The security had been upgraded by Jet and now they felt secure, all of them calling it home while the Crater filled with new recruits.  
“Sorry ladies, still six to four.”  
Party was at his sassy worst and giggled as both ladies stared at the photo of Ghoul flashing his ass in front of the burning oil dump. Ghoul himself was just as jubilant and had perched on Kobra’s lap much to the tall man’s horror.  
“Go drool over my brother, I need to change.”  
“I intend to change the terms of the bet so that I get blowjobs rather than anyone else seeing the girls streak.”  
Crimson gave him the finger and winked at Kobra as he disappeared downstairs. Party wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled into her neck. They had managed one night together and it hadn’t been anywhere near enough for either of them. Rainbow stole the mug of tea from Ghoul and pointed at the map.  
“How many are training now?”  
“Bright reports almost sixty, he and Amber will need some more help soon.”  
Party nodded, trying to drag his eyes from the expanse of Crim’s cleavage.  
“Send Toxic, that boy has become one hell of a fighter.”  
Jet wandered in, a large circuit board in his hand. Instantly he was buried under Crimson and Rainbow who loved to steal any cuddles they could. Nobody cuddled like Jet and now he looked a little smug as he finally managed to sit down. If all of them were honest the nerves were starting to grow about Kobra’s safety and none of them really wanted him to go.  
“How are we doing this?”  
Party rubbed the back of his neck, he looked tired and still a little smoke stained. All of them had noticed that he had not gone back to the red hair and bright colours. Now he had adopted something much like Crim. Black leathers and red showing in great splashes of colour. It was both dramatic and incredibly sexual, some of the younger female killjoys couldn’t even look at him without drooling.  
“Me and Crim will drop him in One. Kobra can make his way to a checkpoint, they have all our pictures up now so no doubt he will be with Korse within an hour or so.”  
Ghoul winced, his hand subconsciously touching the scars through his shirt.  
“I still don’t like this.”  
“I know but he’s determined and we need the intel.”  
Jet passed the tiny homing device from his pocket to Party’s hand. It would tell them where Kobra was at all times and they could find him in the event something went wrong. Rainbow studied the thing, so small and neat in her friend’s palm and yet so vital to the mission. Crimson shivered, the channels to the city remained opened but there was something about this plan that rang alarm bells with her.  
“How do I look?”  
All eyes turned to the door and Kobra, now very much back to Mikey. The white shirt was pressed and spotless, the tie neat and his glasses suited him. Crimson glanced at Party and the pained look on his face before smirking.  
“Sexy as fuck.”  
“Shut up.”  
“Nope, if you weren’t leaving right now the school girl outfit would be coming out.”   
Gerard giggled, he knew Crim wasn’t intending to wear it herself and regretted ever agreeing to that particular game.  
Mikey stuck a finger up and finished his coffee. The atmosphere had turned serious and he hugged both Jet and Ghoul tightly before pulling Rainbow into his arms. She held him, silently praying that this would work before kissing him gently.  
“Take care of these idiots for me.”  
Rainbow nodded.  
“Stay safe and don’t get dead.”  
Crimson gathered up her gun, following the brothers up and into the tunnel where the Trans Am was parked. The night above was cold and clear in the way only a desert night can be. Any other time she would have enjoyed the ride but now watching the stars from the back seat felt like riding to an execution. They encountered no trouble and pulled up in an alley in one. Both kissed and hugged the tall man and he pulled a jacket on before getting out of the car.  
“Time to go to work.”


	17. Chapter 17

Crimson watched Party as they drove back.  
He had never been a man that could hide his emotions and she could see the scowl as he rode the engine hard. A grim frown had never suited him and she knew that he was terrified for his brother, furious at BLI and helpless all at the same time. The cool desert air seemed to sing as she ran a hand down his cheek and he exhaled shakily.  
“If he gets in trouble we can’t help.”  
“He’s got the tracker and he’s smart. Kobra made it in Battery City undetected for months.”  
Party knew she was right and liked the feeling of her fingers on his skin, still if felt wrong to have put Kobra in harm’s way. He forced his mind to concentrate as they crossed into Zone 2 and headed onto a back road. Two was more heavily patrolled than most and he didn’t want to run into trouble. It felt like he hadn’t been alone with Crim in forever and now a wicked idea came across his mind.   
She glanced as he took another left, heading them off the road that would take them back towards the outer zones and home. There was little out this way, the radiation pockets tended to produce some big ass bugs and interesting mutations but not much else. For a moment she was mystified before a grin crossed her face.  
“The Hole.”  
“Is it still there?”  
Crimson’s hand slid down his neck to his thigh as she shifted closer to him.  
“Don’t see why not, nobody knows about it but you and me.”  
Party liked the way she kissed his neck, the car swerving as he reached out a hand and dipped it into her shirt. A chain around her neck ended in a small brass key, a key that only the occupants of the car knew the secret of. Not that their friends hadn’t asked, begged, teased and demanded to know, it was just the one thing that Party and Crimson had kept for themselves. Not even Rainbow and Ghoul knew about The Hole.  
The desert opened up, the Geiger counters beeping a little as Party headed along a little used track that lead into a crater. Maybe it had been a bomb hole, nobody really knew but nothing much grew there except for a mass of very prickly bushes and a few huge spiders. Crimson grabbed their jackets, leather would be some protection but not much against the thorns. The pain would be worth it.  
Party twirled his gun on his fingers and ignored the pain from the bushes against his legs. He counted fifteen paces and kicked at the dirt. Clearly nobody had been here, the dust and sand was thick and it took both of them on hands and knees to finally locate the metal door in the ground. They were now dusty and hot but excited, his lips finding hers as he reached out and pulled the key chain from around her neck. Crimson threw a boulder at a spider that was getting a little too close as he unlocked a panel and slid back the handle. There was a blast of air and Party reached in and flicked on a switch inside the cover.  
“Well we still have power.”  
Crimson took his hand, kissing him again as she grabbed the rungs and climbed down the ladder that lead down for three or four metres. He followed, closing the hatch behind them and locking it. The air was cool and damp, considering it had been eighteen months since anyone had been there he expected it, pausing to turn on the air conditioning as Crimson reached the bottom.  
“Home sweet home.”  
The Hole had been a supply depot when they had found it and consisted of three rooms, one now a bathroom with reasonable hot water and a tub, the second a kitchen which was sadly empty apart from some bottles of cola and a very nicely aged bottle of whiskey and the main room. Crimson lit the candles and turned back to him as Party shrugged off his jacket and looked to see if everything was in place.  
A huge bed dominated the room, still plush with blankets and pillows, the antique bed had been a real find, metal was what Party had required for his plans and it had taken weeks to get the parts together and assemble it. Now the brass shone in the flickering lights of the candles and illuminated the walls behind and around it. The picture above the bed was his own work, a picture of Crimson asleep that had been her birthday present one year, the other walls held different treasures.  
One wall was devoted to restraints and blindfolds of different types from soft silks to metal and chain. Below that was a selection of toys, the amusing haul from a raid on a sexbot factory that had been carried out while under the influence of various illegal substances which still slept in a drawer by the bed. The opposite wall was devoted to whips and flails, paddles and more toys of the slightly more pain inducing variety. There had been a journey of exploration in this tiny desert hole that few would have been all that willing to take. Especially the last wall with its St Andrews cross, another find that Party had crafted from stolen wood.  
He watched her for a moment, pouring them both a whiskey as Crimson ran her fingers down the silken ties and then over the more robust medical restraints before reaching the cuffs. She was crowded by memories and knew he was staring at her, the hunger in his eyes was evident and it was fun to make him wait. She leant back against the wall by the bed, her challenge in her smile as he crossed the small room and handed her the glass.  
“To us.”  
“To life.”  
Party grinned, downing the shot and reaching for her in one movement. He took the glass from her hand and Crim shivered, his body now pressed against her as he lifted her chin. The kiss was slow, taking breath from both of them as her hands moved under his shirt and up his back. He was so warm under her fingers, his muscles rippling as a soft moan broke from him and his fingers dropped lower, one hand around her throat.  
He knew she loved that, a moan making him smile. Slowly he pulled the shirt over her head before discarding his own. He had never worried about his body when with Crimson, she loved every scar, she knew the story of all of them and kissed them all before finally dropping to her knees to release him.  
Now it was Party’s turn to moan, her kisses against his thighs and the sight of her breasts straining at her bra was enough to make him hard and he closed his eyes. Crim always found it amusing that she knelt for only him but he was putty in her hands when it came to this. An act of submission for both of them and she took her time, worshipping his cock with hands and mouth until his knees were shaking. Still he wouldn’t let her up, his grip on her hair was tight although he had turned them both and his back was against the wall. His self control was admirable as always and when he did growl and pull her up, Crimson was breathless and panting with need for him. Party paused, reaching for a silk blindfold that he placed over her eyes as she trembled.   
He liked to look at her, standing before him and helpless yet willing to play any game he wanted. He undressed her carefully, lips and fingers ghosting along her skin before guiding her to the bed and pausing.  
“Kneel up here for me baby.”  
Crimson carefully complied, his hands steadying her. It was an aphrodisiac to wait now, the air conditioning raising goosebumps on her skin and cooling the burning between her legs as she listened to him move around. There could be anything to come, any mix of pleasure and pain that her man desired. He was a complicated, driven man and she knew that the tortured side of him could be violent although he never lost his love for her and would never go too far. The hand on the back of her neck was gentle as he pushed her forward onto hands and knees.  
“Remember these?”  
“Your favourites Gee, how could I forget?”  
He smiled, cuffing her hands with the heavy padded leather and metal restraints. Crimson had been unwilling to use these at first, too many memories of psychiatric wards in the City but he had brought her through that fear and now he could cuff her this way and know that she was still wet for him. Party tested it, probing the damp lips of her pussy until she palm hard against her ass, the sound echoing around the room.  
“You were a bad girl, I heard the stories.”  
Crimson giggled, knowing he just loved to have an excuse.  
“I had a lot of time on my hands and nobody to teach me a lesson.”  
“BLI did the world a favour in bringing me back before you got out of hand.”  
Party grinned as she stuck her tongue out at him and decided that his bitch had got even more cheeky while he had been away. He picked up the nearest cane, bending it as he enjoyed the view of her pert ass before smacking it hard against her pale skin. Crimson jumped at the pain, a great blossoming sting that was followed by a second harder blow. It was exquisite, the pain tempered by his hand against her wetness and the rough penetration of fingers before he pulled away.  
The cane landed twice more, finally eliciting a cry of pain that Party enjoyed. He liked the reddened stripes against her skin and the way she had subconsciously dropped forward onto her forearms, her ass high in the air. His dominant and wild girl that only he could tame and he wondered if he had ever loved her more than at this moment. Crimson was breathing evenly through the pain, her body felt alive at his touch and she wanted more but knew better than to ask. He would give her what she craved but the control was his and his alone.  
He replaced the cane and went looking for his other toys, again Crimson listening and trying to guess what might come next before feeling strong hands on her hips. Party pulled her back off the bed until she was standing, still bent over and restrained. She could feel how hard he was, his cock against her thighs as his thumbs ran circles around the forming bruises and he leant forward to pull on her hair. The chill feel of leather around her throat made her smile and Party did the collar up tight, wrapping the chain around his fist before pushing her back down.  
Only now did he give her what they both craved, slowly pushing his way into her body and pausing, letting them both take a moment of enjoy being joined together and having this restored to them. The chain was pulled back a little, the other hand grasping Crim’s hip as Party resisted the urge to fuck her into the bed and instead picked up a deep, powerful rhythm that rocked them both. Her hands gripped at the sheets, her breathing limited by the collar that just added to the pleasure of feeling his heat inside her. She moaned his name, his breathy laugh a reward as he increased the pace and pushed her down so that his back was against hers. Party knew all the little tricks of her body and could feel how she pulsed around him as the angle made the friction all the more intense. He let her enjoy it for a while, her moans coming faster and faster until the tenseness in his stomach made him pull away. He let go of the chain, turning her onto her back and pulling her hips back towards him. There was no gentleness or control now and he liked it that way, to watch her face as he pounded her pussy, the blindfold still tight over her eyes until he was certain she could take no more.   
“Well?”  
His voice was hoarse, not waiting for her reply as he ground his hips into her. Crim could hardly breathe, hardly speak but she knew what he needed her to say to give them both release and whispered the words, her darkened vision seeing nothing but stars.   
“Please, please let me cum.”  
“Just for me baby, just for me…”  
Party bit through his lip as she shuddered, her body racked with a pleasure that was almost as distinct as pain. He couldn’t hold it back, his body reacting to hers and exploding, the rush of feeling causing the air to leave his lungs and he let it out in a long moan that ended with her name and his arms gently pulling them both onto the bed. He removed all the cuffs and blindfold quickly, wanting to hold her until they could both talk again and their bodies had cooled down.  
Crimson was at peace, she had missed this feeling of being safe in his arms and wondered again why they couldn’t just stay here and let the rest of the world above kill itself. He left her to rest and wondered into the bathroom. There was a surprising amount of warm water and he yelled at her to join him. Crimson wobbled that way, sinking into the hot water to rest against him.  
“I missed you Gee.”  
“I know. I’m sorry for all of it and you know that. Now all that matters is ending this.”  
She swirled the water with her fingers, listening to his heartbeat.  
“I found another bunker in six but the encryption is above my skill. If Jet can break it we may get some new toys. Anything with that much security is usually worth having.”  
“We can head there tomorrow, Kobra won’t report for a day or so.”  
Crimson nodded absently, Party would never stop worrying until his brother was safe.  
She closed her eyes and hoped it wouldn’t mean that he died again or that they never found this peace. Party was consumed with his own thoughts, his love for her and his need to make sure that nothing parted them again.


	18. Chapter 18

Jet was overwhelmed with the desire to punch the smug smile from Korse’s face.  
He stood next to Party, both of them on edge and with folded arms as the screens showed their nemesis next to Kobra and expanding on how this meant that the Killjoys were finished. Ghoul sat on the table behind them flanked by Rainbow and Crimson, all of them glued to the broadcast. In fact all of the killjoys that were in the Crater Club were trying to see, the room a heaving mass of people and anger.  
“You see how even a kidnapping could not stop Michael from returning to the wonderful life BLI have given us all. We can only hope that Gerard, Ray and Frank also escape the degenerates and sluts of the killjoy scum and return home. We will wipe them all out and live in peace.”  
Crimson raised a hand.  
“Am I a slut or a degenerate?”  
“You’re both Crim….oh and a whore.”  
She grabbed Ghoul’s face and kissed him violently as Rainbow chuckled and Party pondered the problems they could face as the screen went blank. The important thing was that his brother was inside and in place. Kobra had looked all smiles and confidence, amusing in itself to those who knew him and the whole pristine set up set Party’s teeth on edge.  
“We can keep up the pressure and see what Kobra can get us. What news from the Zones?”  
He turned back to the room and looked at Bright. The kid smiled, his arms showing fresh scratches and dents from weapons training. Party also noted that Amber had shuffled a couple of newbies into the room who were looking at the killjoys in awe.  
“Training is going well and we have teams taking out BLI supply lines in two. In three we have a hit planned on the water purification plants.”  
Nitro nodded with satisfaction, Fox speaking out from beside him.  
“Grain stores in Four are down and we have our sights set on the Drac Conditioning Units. Three is quiet, we need some bodies to make some noise out there.”  
Ghoul made a note on his pad and passed it to Amber with a smile. He had been building some serious new high explosive grenades in the bottom floor of Crim’s bunker and combined with any bodies that Amber and Bright could spare there would not only be noise but a considerable amount of fire. They intended to make sure that the troops were all in a good position to keep fighting while they investigated the new bunker that Crim had told them about.  
“Dr D?”  
The DJ smirked, his hand on Show Pony’s ass as he motioned to the screens.  
“We are going to break into the transmissions again in six hours. Give them a taste of what music and freedom really are.”  
There was a round of cheering and applause, Party cracking a broad smile as the meeting broke up. Soon only Party, Ghoul, Jet, Rainbow and Crimson remained and the girls spread out a large map onto the main table. It showed Zone Six in more detail, all of it scavenged from Crim’s detailed investigations and plotted out by Neon. There were many new things that Ghoul wanted to explore but the important one for the mission lurked in the far north west on the edge of the radioactive hills and mines of the no-go zone.  
“It’s really good encryption. Military standard and untouched. What do you think Jet?”  
The tall man pursed his lips, deep in thought.  
“I will bring the usual stuff and some modifications I was working on in the city.”  
Ghoul and Party glanced at one another and spoke at the same time.  
“Are there bugs?”  
“Well…..yes but they aren’t all that big.”  
Rainbow pinched her friend’s ear and twisted, eliciting a yelp.  
“The truth Crim.”  
Crimson smirked at the faces around her and shrugged a little.  
“Nothing bigger than a horse.”  
Ghoul immediately shuddered and told Party he was going to go get the bigger guns as they rolled up the map and started to gather equipment together. They hadn’t enlightened the rest of the council about this mission, sometimes it was better that their friends knew as little as possible. That way if they fell into enemy hands they couldn’t incriminate anyone else or be found to be lying.  
“Rain?”  
Rainbow turned into Ghoul’s arms, his mouth finding hers before pulling away. She liked the needful look on his face and remembered the precious few hours they had managed together the previous night. It was more difficult to get time together at the club rather than the bunker but they had managed to sneak into Hedonism once it closed and enjoy the drink and each other.  
“Yes baby?”  
“Can you bring the electric suit along, could be handy.”  
She nodded and grabbed his hand, both of them peeling away to the sleeping quarters as Jet headed for his laboratory. Within half an hour they had met Crim and Party at the Trans Am and loaded everything they thought might help. Bunker busting could be dangerous and yet exciting which meant spirits were high as they began the drive across the Zones. Crim rode up front with Party, Rainbow happily tucked between Jet and Ghoul in the back. It felt like old times, the absence of Kobra the only thing that provoked a little sadness as the night sky started to brighten into the first blush of dawn.  
“You think we will hear anything from Kobra?”  
Jet shook his head.  
“Not this quick Party, he will need to lay low until they trust him a little.”  
Party winced.  
“I don’t like it and yes, I know I’m being irrational.”  
“He’s smart and no, not irrational. Just a big brother.”  
Party nodded with a grin and Crim checked the map again, pointing them to a side road. Another hour passed, all of them caught up in their own thoughts. Rainbow in particular was concerned with letting any of them back into the city. They had died there, the girls had nearly died there on more than one occasion. The urge to run was growing and although she would never abandon Ghoul she began to think there had to be more to life than just this.  
Jet was feeling the strain, his mind still recovering from the conditioning and he wondered how Kobra would cope with being back in there. He shuddered at the thought, it was too close and too soon for him but you had to admire the Kid’s guts. He reloaded his gun, taking the stinger off a large road side scorpion as they passed. It provoked a shooting contest, all of them eventually bowing to Party’s superior skills when he disintegrated a mutant rat from the car while it was halfway down its hole.  
“Think this is it….yup, pull over here.”  
Crimson threw the map to Ghoul and pointed Party towards a patch of rock and scrub. They approached it cautiously, Crimson had laid a couple of traps down to keep any passers by away and it took a moment to disarm everything. Rainbow climbed into the electric suit and waited while Jet worked on the lock panel, adding the odd spark of current when he needed it.  
“This one is a bitch.”  
Ghoul leant against the rocks and kept his gun on the horizon.  
“Named after your favourite sex bot.”  
“Nah bitch was Kobra’s favourite sex bot.”  
“Not what I heard.”  
Party laughed as Jet wiggled his ass at Ghoul and the door finally opened with a screech. Cold stale air whistled out making them all shiver as Rainbow grabbed a rock from the ground and threw it inside. Automatic gunfire screamed down the black hallway as the Killjoys watched and waited. Rainbow herself was calculating distance and resonance, turning back with a smile.  
“Two turrets. Four feet in and twelve feet left.”  
Party threw Crimson a rifle and they ran at the door, both dropping and rolling as the guns fired up again, one firing up the other right. There was a massive explosion that lit up the corridor as the two turrets disintegrated. Ghoul winked at Rainbow and threw Jet his bag, commenting as he walked past his two friends who were now kissing.  
“Show offs…”  
Crimson rolled over and watched them all enter before grabbing Party’s outstretched hand and getting up. They paused looking back at the desert before following, her hand banging the panel on the way in so that the door closed out the daylight behind them.  
“Here we go again…”


	19. Chapter 19

“Look, don’t panic.”  
“Don’t fucking panic? Are you fucking kidding me?”  
Ghoul glanced down and immediately wished he hadn’t. His legs dangled in free air above a room that was full of shadows. They had worked their way down three floors, the usual sentry bots and turrets falling easily and there had been finds of medical supplies and an interesting electrical signal further down. In fact all had been going remarkably well until the floor caved in below Ghoul and sent him tumbling. Party had managed to grab a hand as he fell and now he hung precariously with Jet anchoring Party on the floor above.  
Even that they could have coped with until Rainbow had lit a flare and sent it into the room below.  
The room that held things among the shadows.  
Things with many legs that were way bigger than they had any right to be.  
Crimson frowned and leant down, aiming her gun at the largest spider who was scaling a filing cabinet just below Ghoul’s boots. The laser sent it back down into the carpet of spiders below who immediately ripped the corpse to pieces with some excited squeaking. Ghoul swore loudly in six languages and managed to get a hand to the ledge as Party braced and pulled harder.  
“Rope?”  
Rainbow scooted among the rucksacks and found the coil among the other necessities. She crawled out to Party and Jet, conscious of the groaning coming from the floor joists. Carefully she angled into the hole, trying to ignore the skittering of many legs until Crim took out another adventurous spider who was getting to close.  
“FUCK IT CRIM, FUCKING STOP ANNOYING THEM.”  
“I’m trying to stop them eating your boyfriend.”  
Ghoul grimaced at the pain in his shoulders and shuffled a little further up, slipping for a heart stopping second before Rainbow managed to loop the rope around his torso and slip the knot before pulling hard. This enabled Jet to get a hand on his shoulder and together with Party they dragged their friend back onto the more stable portion of the floor. Rainbow scrambled back from the hole to hug him and check that he was in one piece which Ghoul rather enjoyed.  
“I’m ok but clearly going much further down could be a problem.”  
Party nodded and stretched out an arm to grab Crimson by the ankle and pull her back from where she had been delightedly baiting the angry arachnids below. She sat up and glanced around before pointing up at a sign.  
“Biochemistry is on this floor, biomechanics on the floor with the bugs. Thoughts?”  
Jet, Rainbow and Ghoul stared at her before Party grabbed his gun and rucksack, his grin telling his woman all that she needed to know. She chased after him, their laughter echoing around the corridor as Rainbow helped Ghoul to his feet. Jet hugged them both, his smile following his other two friends.  
“Let them have the bugs, let’s go check out biochem.”  
All of them now had guns drawn and took care to step where the floor looked strongest. Water dripped down from the pipes here and there but there seemed to be very little damage. Clearly the place had just been abandoned and nobody had been curious enough to go looking until Crim had found it.  
They found the labs in a state of decay, the plantlife growing unchecked and a few more spiders that were swiftly dispatched. Jet was more interested in a resonating device that the paperwork said could displace concrete. He put both into his bag and followed Rainbow as she entered into another room.   
“Wow….”  
Ghoul stares upwards, the tree seemed to take up the entire room and hung with thick seed pods among huge leaves. There was also fruit hanging from it and a sweet perfume that was enough to make their mouths water. It reminded Rainbow of strawberries and oranges from before the war and she had a hand out to the nearest of the plush purple fruits when Jet spoke quietly behind her.  
“Don’t.”  
“Why not?”  
Ghoul slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him, all of them taking a step back while staring at the tree. Jet flicked a little further on through the notes and then removed a scalpel from a dented tray on the floor. He expertly flicked it up and lobbed it at one of the pods. As the blade hit, an explosion of thorns erupted from the pod, all three of them ducking back behind a table and only peering out when the noise stopped. The table had spikes sticking out and all could see that they were brutally sharp.  
“The fruit is extremely poisonous, you could wipe out a city with one of those purple things.”  
Ghoul shook his head and looked over his shoulder, the bunker now seemed a whole lot more like BLI type engineering and it made him nervous. Jet flicked on and looked up at Ghoul’s remark.  
“It is genetic engineering yes. Make a plant that you can grow around a fortress and act as an undetectable layer of security. Plus you have a ready made harvest of neuro toxins.”  
“If you can harvest it….”  
Jet grinned and they left him reading, keeping well away from the tree as they explored the rest of the room. Clearly someone had managed to harvest the fruit as they found vials of purple liquid which Ghoul carefully retrieved, complete with their metal box. He had ideas on that which were not ethical but that side of him had died in the city.  
“Take this too.”  
Rainbow handed him a large harpoon type weapon and they headed back out into the corridor. All of them were glad to be away from the tree that looked so tempting and they sat for a moment, backs against the wall as they waited to see if Party and Crimson would reappear. Ghoul reached for his last pack of smokes and passed them around.  
“We now have a poison….”  
“We could destroy the city again yes but that didn’t stop BLI before.”  
Jet nodded at Rainbow, he didn’t want to go through all this on a repeating cycle of death and destruction. There had to be another way and he looked across at Ghoul, seeing the concentration on his friends face. Something had changed in him, of all of them he had probably suffered the most and Jet understood the need for revenge.  
“Catch a look at this shit.”  
Party came bounding up the stairs, a bandage wrapped around his hand but a triumphant grin on his face. He held a large weapon, the barrel emitting a strange glow. Ghoul was about to say something as Party aimed it at the opposite wall. The beam glowed and melted it into putty.  
“Well fuck…..”  
“We found a stash of them and something else. More small nukes.”  
Jet grinned as Rainbow looked past their leader and down the stairs.  
“Where’s Crim?”  
“Bringing up the something else.”  
There was a sinking feeling among the other three as they all stared into the darkness. Crimson appeared with a cheery grin, her rucksack bulging with nukes, grenades and small arms. In her arms she carried a metal box. It moved and shook and Ghoul went pale, a horrible feeling going up his back.  
“NO.”  
“What?”  
“You are not taking home a pet spider.”  
Crimson giggled and looked over at Party who unrolled a blueprint.  
“We sort of are. They were keeping our creepy friends to learn from and make metal variants that can carry explosives and such like. We have four in the box and hopefully we can make use of them. They have a nasty bite though.”  
He waved his hand, the white bandage now blooming with red.  
“They could have been poisoned, we found a tree that has neurotoxin as fruit juice.”  
“There are more levels but its dangerously unstable. We need more equipment.”  
Ghoul for one was happy to be leaving the bunker and they trooped upstairs talking excitedly. The car was soon groaning under the weight and Dr D was prepping the lab for Jet as they headed back. Party kept the car at a steady ninety as he spoke to the DJ.  
“Any word?”  
“No but an encrypted file came through an hour ago from the city.”  
There was a determined smile from Party, relief from the others.  
“That’s my boy…”


	20. Chapter 20

Mikey nodded and tried to remember the girl’s name as she talked to him.  
They were in a small bistro in the high quarter of the city, as a minor celebrity he was expected to mingle and had been asked on many dates, this blonde was high up in the scarecrow unit and he had to admit that her curves were enticing under the grey suit.  
He had been careful to follow every instruction and command to the letter since he had returned, Korse had people watching night and day so Mikey had to be incredibly careful how he had sent out his messages to his brother.  
In fact, actual messages had been impossible, he had found that the only way was via coded and encrypted files that he could send out at work. They had found him a better job, better apartment and clearly better women but it had meant several weeks of interrogation and now Mikey was tired. The trust had started to grow, he had noticed a slight drop in the security and now hoped to be able to find something that would really help his friends.  
“You were so brave out there, all that danger.”  
“I knew I had to come back.”  
Mikey smiled thinly and Barbara (thank fuck, that’s her name) beamed at him.  
She was heavily drugged, he could see it in her eyes and a moment of pity passed over him. Jet had made a tiny testing device that slid into the arm of his glasses and Mikey was careful to test all his food and drink to make sure the only drugs they were trying to feed him were in pill form. Those he could dispose of.  
“I hope your brother comes back too.”  
Mikey winced, the smile faltering a little as he changed the subject and poured a little more wine. The clock read half past nine and they were nearly on dessert. Barbara had been heavily hinting about coming back to the apartment with him and Mikey wondered if that was Korse too. Seduce the boy and keep him quiet. There was some irony in that, he doubted that anyone in the city would share the kinks that got him off. He had played the innocent, carefully keeping a poker face against her flirting.  
The next hour passed torturously slowly and Mikey was relieved to finally drop the girl back at her apartment and head for home. He was being followed, the professional part of him coldly critical of the operative’s performance. It had been easy to see that they were tailing him and Mikey had been forced to take preventative measures to stop them realising that he had clocked them. Embarrassing…..  
“Good evening Michael.”  
“Good evening Sir, how are you?”  
Korse smiled blandly, his dracs circling the front door of Mikey’s apartment. His masters were impressed that the boy had found his way back and clearly the programming could work on the right mind. They wanted the others wiped out and it was fortunate that the one that had come home was the youngest Way. If the elder had a weak spot it was the sibling and now he could be a useful tool. They had watched him of course, the consideration that the boy could simply be a plant was obvious but there had been little to cause suspicion and Korse had been told Barbara was the final test.  
“Very well. Did you have a pleasant evening?”  
Mikey dropped his head with a sigh.  
“She is a wonderful lady.”  
“Yes….she is. Good night Michael.”  
“Good night Sir.”  
Mikey locked the door behind him and checked the scrambler was still shielding him from the hidden cameras in the apartment. Party and Jet had been careful to drill it into him that he needed to reset them every twelve hours. He also checked around to see if there had been a search and came up clear. Finally satisfied that he was clear, Mikey found the whiskey that Crim had given him and lit up the joint that Rainbow had put in his pocket. With a toast to the girls he retrieved some more stolen papers from under his shirt and went to get the laser scanner pen that would allow him to upload the file.  
This was the first significant piece of intel that he had come across, a detailed plan of the air filtration system of the city and a digital map of the connections to the other BLI outposts across what remained of the country. Mikey was sure that it was the latter that would prove most useful in taking down BLI once and for all. He quickly scanned all the pages and went over to the terminal to send it down to the dark web. He knew that Party would be waiting for it.  
All that was left after that was to burn the originals and rest. He laid on the bed, fully clothed and deep in thought. There were certain parts of the city he still needed to get to and that was proving difficult if he was being followed. Dumping the tail would show that he had clocked it and that shouldn’t happen if the conditioning was holding. Therefore he had to take a more dangerous route, a smirk crossing his face as he imagined Party cringing and throwing his hands in the air. It was risky, dangerous and stupid actually but Kobra loved the thrill.  
Slowly the clock ticked around to three a.m and he got up, changing into dark jeans and tee before easing open the window and clambering on the ledge. He was seven stories up and thankful that there was no wind under the great dome as he inched his way out and along. All the hours of working out were paying off, Mikey’s muscles straining as he pilled himself up and quickly climbed to the top of the block. It was a panoramic view, somehow beautiful as he quietly made his way across the top of the next three apartment buildings and then down into the bowels of the admin district.  
The air filtration had provided Mikey with a plan. He could take advantage of the maintenance conduits and get into the mainframe. If he could do that and plant a recording device then everything would open up to them. With the secrets of the mainframe Jet would be able to take control of the city and maybe more. It was an intoxicating thought and one that he was determined to see through despite the obvious risks.  
Wire cutters made short work of the duct cover and he crawled inside, a small torchlight from his pen the only source of light as he shuffled along. It was hot and claustrophobic, Mikey could feel the sweat running down his back and twice he was forced to stop to wipe his face and push back his hair. It seemed to take an eternity of back aching to make it to the junction where he consulted the map again and pressed on.  
To take his mind off it he thought of the diner and the old days. He missed Missile running around excitedly at his feet but was glad she was safe. He missed lying on the roof with Crim and Party, trying to remember the names of the constellations. He missed driving with Ghoul and Jet, Rainbow in his lap more often than not when they all squeezed in together. The tainted air of the city made him long for home and he was glad when he could remove the last grate and climb through into the corridor. It was silent apart from the hum of generators and Mikey was forced to check his compass and map to make sure he was in the right place. From here it was a sprint down to the basement and only the problem of the security door would remain.  
That was the tricky and risky part. To gain entrance you needed to be scanned via facial recognition and checked by the security system in the Scarecrow building. His own face would not be on the list of course so he needed one of the people in the building to bypass it for him. A hostage or a sacrifice depending how the adventure turned out and it would have to be from this floor. The people here would not recognise the man in front of them, nothing of their Mikey remained. Only Kobra Kid.  
The technician didn’t even see him and had been having a bad night anyway. His wife was leaving him for his supervisor and nobody seemed to give a shit. Not even him and certainly not their kids. Now this middle aged man by the name of Keith found himself propelled face first into the wall by a man he couldn’t see. Something sharp nicked at his throat as a soft voice spoke in his ear.  
“Mainframe. Can you get in?”  
There was a squeak of fear and no much else so Kobra inched the blade deeper into the skin, a tiny drop of blood on the metal illuminated by the over head lights. Keith fought back the urge to scream and nodded as much as he could.  
“Y-yes.”  
“Good, maybe you get to live if you get me in there.”  
They walked down the last flight of stairs and came to the vast metal doors that guarded the innermost workings of the city. There were no guards, nothing but a camera pad which linked to a terminal. Kobra had studied the schematics and knew there could be more of a fight beyond but he had the element of surprise. Keith stuck his face on the pad and the metal door creaked open. Kobra slammed his head into the pad and leant down.  
“You going to tell about this?”  
“NO, jesus, no!”  
“Good, now fuck off.”  
The man fled and Kobra grinned, the corridor further on led to another door that was locked but could be bypassed. He set the door to close behind him and walked steadily forward to the other end before twisting the end of the torch to reveal a decryption device that Jet had stolen from the city. He plugged it in and let it whir.  
“Michael…..”  
Kobra froze, glancing around him for the hidden voice and already his hand was going to the torch.   
“You are predictable but oh so clever. Not clever enough but close. We set you all free for a reason and now you will play your part by bringing your family to my door.”  
Kobra sprinted for the door he had come through, his heart pounding as it closed in his face and Korse’s voice echoed in the now enclosed tube. He could see gas seeping in and his mind was racing. The horrible realisation that they had all walked into a trap came over him as he tried not to breath in.  
“Relax my boy, you have served us well….”  
Kobra could feel his breathing getting tight and his eyes started to water and close. One face crossed his mind and it was his last thought before passing out.  
“Gerard, run.”


	21. Chapter 21

The desert held an oasis in Four that few had ever seen.  
The pocket of land seemed to be untouched by rads and war, a small pond with trees and a little scrubby grass that now was at the centre of a small encampment. The reason nobody saw it was a decent camouflage attempt and the presence of electromagnetic energy. The first was Killjoys, the second a lucky strike out and just maybe why there was an oasis in the first place. Now it also housed all the would be and wanna be killjoys who hoped to win a war.  
“Any really good ones?”  
Bright scratched his head with the barrel of his gun and shrugged at Party.  
“Potentially yes but with the time we have….”  
“Kobra has sent some good stuff out, we have schematics for the city connections that look really promising.”  
The two men paused and watched as Ghoul made a group of teens run again and again, timing them as they dodged and dropped into ditches. A killjoy in the Zones knew the value of being able to use cover and there was nobody better at it than the dark haired terror who was grinning as he lobbed a couple of smoke grenades in for good measure. Amber was taking another group through target practise and it was clear that while there were some missing the target, a vast majority were doing well.  
Party tousled Bright’s hair affectionately, they had spent a lot of time together in the early years of the fight, through to when they left and the girls left. Crim and Rainbow had returned four years later and helped them in the final battle and he was comforted to know that Bright and Amber had come home when Rain had needed them.  
“Were we ever that young?”  
“Yeah but the world was halfway sane back then. Now all these kids have is us and the cause.”  
Party winced, he knew he was as much responsible for that as BLI.  
“Except things are never that black and white Bright, one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.”  
Bright smiled and shook his head, that BLI sought to control the populace was enough for him, he would leave the ethics to others. Ghoul jogged over to them, his face smudged with smoke as he grabbed them both in a hug.  
“Good bunch, I think we can work with this.”  
Party kissed his forehead and the three strode back down to where Amber had now gathered the group of forty or so recruits together. They all stared in awe, most had only seen Party Poison on wanted posters and now here he was, the famous yellow mask and smirk in place as he headed over to the beautiful girl in yellow.  
“Hi Amber, hi guys….”  
There were murmurs and shuffling feet as Party faced them. He again felt a stab of guilt. Most of these kids would die for him and whatever battle they had to fight in. It was fun to cause trouble with his friends, to annoy BLI and make noise. Not so fun to think of them going up against Korse and the full Scarecrow army.  
“We have a spy in the city and soon we may go to war…”  
Party paused, looking at his friends.  
“I can’t ask you to die for us, anybody that wants to leave can do just that. If you choose to fight you may die and we may fail. BLI is stronger now than ever and whatever we do may not be enough.”  
A lot of faces looked very serious at this until a voice called from the back.  
“We’re not leaving!”  
“Fuck BLI!”  
Party grinned, Ghoul and Bright laughing along as the tension broke a little. Amber smiled to herself, if their leader had a fault it was that he sometimes took things a little too seriously. Finally Party raised his hand and the chatter died down.  
“Fuck it then, guess we’re all in. Keep training and listening to Bright and Amber. When we strike, we will need all the guns we have and more.”  
A cheer went up and Amber shooed the kids away and back to their lessons with Bright in tow leaving Ghoul and Party to enjoy soaking in a little sun. Ghoul had discarded his jacket and his friend loved the way the light danced on his inked skin. They stood in companionable silence until Ghoul sighed and stroked Party’s hair.  
“Any more news?”  
“Not since he sent the last encrypted message. We can’t track him, Jet says the city has put up a new static barrier. Hopefully he will get another message out soon.”  
Ghoul could hear the worry in his friend’s voice and knew that the pressure Party was feeling would be increasing the longer Kobra stayed out of contact. There was nothing he could do but offer solace and keep them all going until they could get in there and end it. On that point Ghoul had some ideas of his own.  
“Where are the girls at?”  
“Went to look for supplies about an hour ago.”  
Party rolled his eyes, he didn’t like letting either Crimson or Rainbow out of his sight for more than ten minutes and looking for supplies was usually a code name for picking a fight with as many dracs as possible. He toed the sand with the tip of his boot and sighed.  
“Usual bet then.”  
Ghouls giggled, the sound making Party smile.  
“Ten bucks says they bring back alcohol or scalps.”  
“I hope not the latter, I don’t think Show Pony appreciated them putting severed heads in his bed.”  
A round of gunfire drew them back to the training and soon another hour had passed with Party taking a group of the trainees through a mock up and Jet arriving with the news that another encryption had come out of the city. Party had felt himself relax and again cursed his little brother and his stubbornness. Jet had joined in and when night started to fall they had gathered together with the kids, a bonfire providing warmth and food as they talked.   
“I’m gonna skin Crim.”  
“Nope, you’ll fuck Crim and then forget why you were mad.”  
A round of applause went up at Jet’s comment and Party’s reply was lost as the Mustang came roaring around the outbuildings and skidded to a halt. Forty plus faces watched as the drivers door opened and Rainbow tumbled out, giggling helplessly with a joint in hand. She didn’t seem to notice the others, sticking the reefer in her mouth as she pulled herself up on the bonnet and staggered around to open the passenger door and pull Crimson out.   
“Shhhhhhhhhhh, they won’t know we’re here….”  
Crimson was on a Drift high and more interested in the sensations that moving was causing to pay any attention and promptly fell flat on her face. Rainbow lost it, roaring with laughter as Party and Ghoul stood up and walked over, their faces amused and somewhat relieved.  
“Good scavving mission then?”  
“Baby!”  
Ghoul disappeared as Rainbow landed on him, Party quickly helping Crimson to her feet. She swung from his arm, waving at the assembled killjoys and trying to remember how to form words.  
“We found a stash, a really good stash and….”  
She grinned, grabbing his hair and kissing him hard which prompted Jet to send the kids off to bed and douse the fire before things got pornographic. He left his friends to take their women to bed, opening up the boot of the Mustang and staring inside. True there was a stash in there but it wasn’t just random drugs, some tins and some whiskey. This was a stash that they could use and his eyes alighted on one object in particular.  
Jet lifted it out with a certain wonder and decided to ask the girls where they had found it once they sobered up. Things like this just didn’t turn up in the Zones, they were legend from before the war and he instantly took to imagining all the uses he could find for it. This small object in his hand.   
This weapon.


	22. Chapter 22

Kobra came around to the brightest of white lights.  
His head felt heavy and everything ached, for a moment it was impossible to tell where he was or what had happened. He opened his eyes slowly, wondering if Party had spiked his drink again and then the shock hit him and he remembered. The raid into the mainframe, the tunnel and….  
Korse.  
He tried to move, realising simultaneously that he was strapped down and that the room was white and full of equipment. Steel bands held his wrists and ankles, another across his chest meaning that he was pinned and it would take a miracle to escape. Kobra knew only too well where he was, the medical labs in Battery City were the one place that nobody wanted to end up and he had only been here once before when they had been reborn.  
“Hello Mikey.”  
Kobra stilled, focusing on Korse and the two white suited men in front of him. Medical techs moved around behind them, steel trays full of equipment made him take a determined breath in. Pain could be got through and he would be damned if he would give them the pleasure of screaming. He lifted his chin and stared them down.  
“Oh don’t worry, we are not going to kill you.”  
“I’ll tell you nothing so go ahead.”  
Korse smiled thinly, the boy was strong and fit. Clearly the killjoy threat was still growing rather than diminishing as they had hoped. His scientists were still pulling apart the apartment to try and work out how Mikey had shielded himself from their surveillance and what he had managed to send out. If anything. There had been a dispute amongst his superiors, some wanted the boy tortured until he told them but the others had favoured Korse’s plan and so now they could use this man against his brother.  
“You have us all wrong.”  
Kobra looked down and wiggled his hands.  
“Sure looks like it, I mean if you wanted kinky sex you could have just asked.”  
“Always the jokes. We gave you life, you should be grateful.”  
Fire rose in Kobra’s eyes and he stared down the pale automaton in front of him. Some of the medics already looked scared and had no doubt that if the dark haired man could get free he would kill them.  
“You shouldn’t have bothered if you think I will betray them to save my own life.”  
Korse smiled again and paced in front of the bound man. He picked up a scalpel and ran it between his fingers. Kobra watched him, he knew that he could withstand it physically but it was what they tried mentally that concerned him. He didn’t want to tell them anything, not a word or even a lie. He swore silently as Korse ran the edge of the blade down his exposed shoulder blade. The stinging pain was nothing, it was the look of satisfaction that irked him.  
“I don’t care if you talk or not. That doesn’t matter. I remember looking at you in the morgue and you have the same look now.”  
The blade edged down to the scars that ran in a line across Kobra’s stomach. The android didn’t cut him, just traced the marks as Kobra stared at him. The other medics still walked to and fro in the antiseptic room but it had come down to just the two of them. The hatred was so white hot that Kobra thought he might melt the bars holding him.  
“You tried to kill me for killing your brother….”  
Kobra growled and strained at the bars again.  
“Murdering fucker, I will kill you this time.”  
Korse laughed, the sound grating and humourless.  
“Says the man who came back to the city to die again. I admit, you had me fooled there for a while. Obviously Ray has learned a fair bit from his time here and Gerard, well he always was the smartest of you.”  
“Killjoys never die.”  
The medic came at the hand Korse raised and stood beside him, looking at the boy with undisguised curiosity. They had never seen a killjoy up close and she had to admit he was attractive. The brown hair and glasses that had been his disguise in the city were gone and his hair was now black, the hazel eyes direct and penetrating. The medic remembered his brother from the television and saw the family connection in those eyes.  
“Sedate my friend here nurse. He doesn’t need to know any of this.”  
The nurse smiled sweetly and lifted a syringe from the tray as Kobra struggled to free himself. She liked the way he fought, there was something animal about it and she shivered when he snarled as she forced the needle into his bicep. The drug was fast acting, the BLI employees watching closely as Kobra fought valiantly to keep himself awake before finally slumping forward into the metal restraints. Korse lifted his head up by the hair and slapped his cheeks but the boy didn’t stir.  
“Good. We are going to try something different with Michael.”  
He motioned to his left and the two dracs undid the brakes and flipped the gourney so that they could push Kobra through a big set of metal doors and down a long white corridor. The medics followed Korse, all of them flipping through their notes and readying themselves for the task ahead. Mind control was easy when you were dealing with drugged minds but this man had been outside and would be far more difficult to work with.  
“We will implant a code phrase.”  
Korse picked up another syringe, this one loaded with a murky substance that he passed to the nurse. She moved to the unconscious man and twisted his arm, injecting the drug into his wrist and watching as his vital signs dropped until Kobra was barely alive. Another nurse placed an oxygen mask over his face and then attached metal plates to the sides of his head.   
“Begin….”  
Korse’s command sent the dracs to flick the switch and a great arc of electricity sparked across the room. Kobra’s body jumped and then settled, his heart rate still steady as his pulse slowed. The nurses marvelled at his strength, few subjects had survived the initial phase of this test and yet this one seemed to not only survive but become stronger.  
“More sedative sir?”  
“Oh no, we need his brain awake for this.”  
Korse leant in closer, his mouth merely an inch from Kobra’s ear.  
“Can you hear me Mikey?”  
There was a pause, Kobra’s face flickered but his eyes didn’t open when he uttered a single word.  
“Yes.”  
“Good boy. You will be going home soon.”  
The robot smiled and handed the list of phrases to the head doctor. The man trembled a little, he had once been captured by Killjoys and the scars that littered his face were the proof. He wondered if this one knew of the ones that had taken him, it seemed a perfect revenge to bend this one into killing the others.  
“I don’t mind what you use but make it simple, one word and not anything that can be slipped into conversation easily. We don’t want him going off before we are ready. The camera?”  
The doctor turned and picked up a tiny device.  
“Will be fitted behind the retina. As soon as he is activated we will be able to see what he sees.”  
Korse nodded, satisfied and left the room with the dracs following behind. He needed to report to his superiors and inform them that all was going nicely to plan. Mikey would be their ultimate weapon and if he could have felt satisfaction the smile would have descended into smugness. Instead there was merely nothing as he stepped out into the artificial sunlight and away from the house of death.


	23. Chapter 23

There was an element of relaxation that none of them had found in a while and Party didn’t want to move and spoil the moment. Ghoul’s head rested on his stomach, Crim was tucked into one shoulder and he could see Rain snuggled up against his best friend’s back. It had been too long since they had managed an evening together and Party had needed it and the half bottle of vodka that now lay empty on the floor.  
“Penny for them…”  
Party smiled, his hand tousling Crim’s hair.  
“Just thinking how good this is and why it can’t be like this all the time.”  
“There’s a war to win remember?”  
He pulled a face and kissed her smile as Ghoul stirred and opened an eye.  
“Thought you were done with war.”  
“I am but you idiots can’t be trusted not to die every time I let you out my sight so…”  
Rainbow started to laugh as she was jolted awake by Party and Ghoul tickling Crimson until she screeched and pushed her lover on the floor. He used the opportunity to look for smokes as Ghoul pulled both women to him. There was something immensely comforting about being snuggled so close, he was warm and Rainbow wanted to do nothing but sleep.  
“We could leave.”  
Everyone’s heads shot up, Ghoul, Rainbow and Crimson stared at Party as he leant back against the door, the cigarette hanging from his lips. If there had ever been words that they had not expected to hear, these were those. Crimson knew she had gone a little pale and fixed the dark haired man with a stare.  
“Leave…..you have never even come close to saying that before.”  
“I never died before. Look at those kids today, they have the fight and the fire we used to have. All I want now is this and Jet and my brother, all of us safe.”  
Ghoul took the ciggie and puffed on it.  
“BLI would chase us down.”  
Party nodded with a grin, his smile widening as Crim and Rain tucked the blankets around themselves and snuggled up close. He had surprised himself with his words but the more he thought about it the more sense it made. He was tired of fighting, tired of it all. Ghoul watched the emotions on his face and considered the irony of the switch in view. Before it had been himself who had wanted to run and now all he wanted was to end it once and for all, then Party could have his peace.  
“Guys!!!”  
Frantic hammering on the door immediately made Party scramble up and open it to see Jet, his face pale and worried. Ghoul appeared behind him, noting that Jet didn’t even raise an eyebrow about the amount of nudity on display.  
“Kobra?”  
“Yeah, he managed to get the evac code out. Don’t know what happened but we need to go get him.”  
There was a rush for clothes and weapons, all of them half dressed as they ran after Jet and up the many sets of steps to where Toxic was manning the radio. He had returned from Bright’s camp with one of the smarter kids who was known as Red Racer and was now showing him the radio. Quickly Party grabbed the coded paper and read the scribbled words. He had agreed with Kobra that it would be as simple as code blue and now rode out the adrenaline as he turned to his friends.  
“Toxic, keep the channels open. Ghoul and I will go and get Kobra. Can you guys raise some noise on the other side of One to keep the dracs busy?”  
Jet nodded, he had spent all day playing with the new weapon but was happy to leave that now and test the grenades he had filled with a concentrated form of the fruit they had found in the spider bunker. Crimson was already tucking her gun in her belt, Rainbow had the keys to the Mustang in her hand.  
“No problems, go bring him home before he gets in any more trouble.”  
Party kissed Crim’s smile as Ghoul hugged Rainbow and Jet. There was always the subtle fear that something would go wrong but now that was overridden by concern. The code was only for emergencies which suggested Kobra had been rumbled or at least thought he had. Time was now an issue.  
Toxic wired the channels open and started sending out messages asking for information on drac and scarecrow movements. The spies out in all the zones would be able to tell Rainbow where to head while the rescue was ongoing. They split up at the cars and Party watched his friends drive off before turning to Ghoul.  
“Got the big guns?”  
“Baby, I’m always packing the big guns…”  
Party patted his ass and nodded, gunning the car as soon as Ghoul was aboard. Both men were heavily armed and watchful, the exit pipe from the city that Kobra would use was not guarded but Zone One tended to be crawling and any sign of the Killjoys might bring unwanted attention.  
“You think he’s ok?”  
Ghoul nodded, checking the batteries in the green gun.  
“Yep or he wouldn’t have got the message out.”  
“Could be a trap…”  
Ghoul stared at him, the worry on Party’s face was infectious and he didn’t want to think about that possibility. There were many reasons why Kobra would want out, could be that he had found something that would be enough for them to win the war. He certainly hoped so and prayed the thought into the wind as the desert night fled by the car.   
“We would know, Korse would have been shouting it out.”  
Party drummed his fingers on the wheel and considered that point. He knew the overprotective side was worse with Kobra than the others and tried to be positive. His brother was good, too good to take bad risks.  
“I just want him well away from the city.”  
A silence fell, both turning back to their thoughts and the hours of driving ahead. Getting from Six to One took a long time, well long enough for the radio to start talking of huge explosions in Four that required urgent assistance. That made both men smile, there could be no doubt who was making that noise.  
Dawn was breaking as they crossed the border into One, only a single fire fight had been needed and the dracs hadn’t stood a chance against two guns and a bazooka. It had made Party feel a little better, eased the tension he was feeling and now he cautiously drove them to the scrubland near the city. From here they would have to hike, hiding the car as best they could in the ruins of the church.  
“Ready?”  
Ghoul nodded and followed Party across the dust and stones of the desert. Here you could still see the remains of pre war houses and even the odd cluster of bones that had once been living human beings but now were charred sticks. It was sobering, the Geiger counter clicking ominously as they reached the outcrop of rocks that hid the entrance to the pipe. Both men paused and checked around them before pushing the stunted bushes aside. Party whistled a low note and waited, the sense of relief flooding him as Kobra appeared, covered in dirt and blinking but seemingly unharmed.  
There were smiles and hugs but none of them spoke until they were back in the car and heading towards Two. Kobra was grateful for the water and the sight of his best friends alive. He leant over from the back and ruffled Ghoul’s hair.  
“Sorry about panicking you but I came home to find the apartment had been pulled to pieces and there was an alert looking for me.”  
“You ok?”  
Kobra shrugged, rubbing his forehead.  
“Weird headache but yeah. What’s been happening?”  
Ghoul filled Kobra in on the raids and Jet’s secret project which amused Kobra. Only Jet could build something in a lab surrounded by people and still keep it secret. The hours passed, Ghoul driving so that Kobra and Party could sleep and when they finally reached home all of them were hot and exhausted.  
“I need a shower…”  
“I need a drink….”  
“I need Crim to suck me off….”  
Party smirked at his friends and thought to himself that finally things were looking up.


	24. Chapter 24

A good night’s sleep can lift even the lowest of spirits.  
Party woke up feeling energised and ready to fight. He had been thinking as he dressed, the weapon that Jet had been working on combined with the information Kobra had been able to give them about the mainframe had allowed a plan to form in his head. It was mad, suicidal even but it might just work.  
“Come back to bed….”  
“Nope, c’mon lazy ass. We need to meet the girls for breakfast.”  
Ghoul gave him the finger with a sleepy smile and pulled the covers over his head so Party headed out into the bunker alone and up the stairs to the kitchen. Crimson, Rainbow and Jet had only returned a few hours before and were drinking coffee. They all looked up as he came in, Crim walking into his arms for a hug.  
“How’s Kobra?”  
“Fine, his apartment was raided so he got out before they came looking for him. He has loads of info for us so I think we should get him, Ghoul and Toxic to join us. We can put a plan together to get the council on board.”  
Crimson blinked, it still made her uncomfortable when his zeal for the cause came forward but she couldn’t deny that if they could pull this off then his earlier idea of leaving might just happen. Rainbow was just glad that they could do something more than just antagonise BLI, a grin appeared on her face as she elbowed Jet.  
“Does this mean we get to know about the gizmo?”  
He smiled, his fro shaking with laughter.  
“If what Kobra has found out fits in, then yes.”  
“It does.”  
Party poured more water into the coffee machine as Crimson and Rainbow fled down to the lower levels to rouse Ghoul and Kobra. Toxic ambled in as it brewed, alerted by the girls and the prospect of finding out about the weapon. Party and Jet were already spreading out maps of the city and trying to work out entry points and numbers. The mugs were full and sugared as a tired looking Ghoul was pulled in by his ear by Rainbow. Crimson followed behind, Kobra listening intently to the update she was giving him on killjoy numbers and camps.  
“Spill it fromaster!”  
“Yeah Jet, spill it!”  
The big man smiled shyly and reached into his pocket. In the palm of his hand lay a simple silver memory stick, one end engraved with grooves. From his other pocket he took a longer piece of burnished metal and slid it onto the grooved end. He looked up to see them all staring at him, Crimson pouting slightly.  
“That’s it? That’s the weapon?”  
He ruffled her hair affectionately and nodded, the girls tended to forget that weapons didn’t have to be guns and large sticks. Party took the device and turned it around in his hand, Kobra immediately recognising what they were looking at. His voice was low, the rare smile breaking out.  
“Its an EMP bomb.”  
Rainbow tapped the side of his head with a grin.  
“Yeah its orgasmic Kobra, but what does it do?”  
Party sat down in the chair next to Jet and marvelled at the device in his hand. This was it, the one thing that had the potential to end BLI with as little bloodshed as possible. The one thing that would let him walk away with a clear conscience.  
“Electro Magnetic Pulse. This thing would fry any computer you plug it into, with that add on and Jet’s technical genius it could takedown every BLI city in the country.”  
“How?”  
“EMP knocks out anything electrical basically, its something that a nuclear weapon releases when it detonates.”  
Jet took the tiny device back from Party and looked at Kobra.  
“The mainframe.”  
“If we can link it in and fry it then yes, in theory it would travel along the connections to all the other BLI cities and black them out. With the blast doors down, nobody would get in or out and there would be chaos.”  
Crimson sat on Party’s lap now able to understand why they had been so excited and so keen to keep it a secret. If BLI even had a hint that the Killjoys had that kind of weapon it would mean a massacre of every settlement in the Zones. The chaos called to her and she could see Rainbow was just as keen to put this device into use. Ghoul rubbed his face, he loved the idea but it had one big problem.  
“They clocked you when you tried to go to the mainframe.”  
Kobra nodded, the weird headache still chiming in his head.  
“Stealthsuit?”  
“And back up….”  
Crimson caught the stricken look on Party’s face at her suggestion but she knew he would see the logic. Nobody could move as silently in the suits than she could and between them any trouble could be taken out before the alarm could be raised.  
“When you knock out the city we can be waiting outside at the access tunnels. Send the army in at different points and wipe them out.”  
Ghoul had seen Party’s face turn a little happier at that thought and his mind went to the fruity poison that he had been making into bombs and weapons of his own. With the city in darkness and turmoil there would be no doubt that the numbers game would be in their favour for once.  
“There is one problem.”  
All eyes turned back to Jet, his face serious as he picked up the tiny bomb and twirled it in his fingers. Party liked how his confidence had grown since they had escaped the conditioning. Of all of them Jet had learned the most in the city, the time in BLI’s labs was proving to be useful in all manner of ways. A huge rush of love for his friend passed over Party and he gripped Crim a little closer as Ghoul wrapped his arms around Rainbow and looked quizzically at Jet.  
“We need a back up battery, this one is burnt out. I know where there is one but you ain’t gonna like it.”  
Rainbow started to shake her head, the horrible feeling of knowing that there was only one place where they had seen prewar tech recently and it was the last place that she wanted to go back to. Crimson grinned evily.  
“Don’t tell me, the spider bunker from hell?”  
Jet shrugged apologetically as Kobra listened with a grin to their tales of huge spiders, homicidal trees and Ghoul’s near death experience. Party just sat back with a serene grin and watched them bicker. They could do this and the war would be over, he could live free and never have to kill or hide again.  
A perfect dream.


	25. Chapter 25

“We should have gone with them….”  
“Yeah…..really, really should have….”  
Ghoul shifted a little, his feet dangling from the edge of the beam. Above them there was nothing but a beautiful red sunset, the lingering after effects of the Helium War and several atomic weapons. Pretty but somewhat deadly, the risks only having dropped enough in the last few years to make it worth moving around in daylight. Rainbow tipped her gun down a little and stared at the dracs below.  
“Thank fuck we didn’t. If Crim brings home a pet I am shooting her in the head. Again.”  
Ghouls smiled, he had been wondering and now seemed the time to ask, the dracs moving around below the damaged building they were in temporarily forgotten. His voice was soft and serious.  
“What happened that day?”  
Rainbow flinched, still not really wanting to dig it up but understanding that he needed to know. They had never kept secrets from each other, not before the world ended or after it and she knew that Ghoul loved Crim just as she loved Party. It was a bond that needed to remain strong for all of them to be happy and this one time it had fractured.  
“It had been coming for a while. You have to understand, they didn’t just kill you. They broadcast it on a loop for weeks. Then the autopsies, the lot. Everything was in chaos and both of us felt guilty I think. That we didn’t stop you going that night, that we didn’t go with you…”  
Her voice cracked and his arm went around her shoulder.  
“All I could think of was holding it all together, if I had let the Killjoys fold in and disappear then you would have died for nothing. Crim…well, Crim went the other way. You know how the rage gets to her and believe me, I have never seen it worse.”  
“I thought that would have been what held you together. You organising and leading, Crim killing dracs and anything BLI.”  
Crimson smiled, he really would have needed to be there to understand. Ghoul had a temper and she was pretty sure he would have gone Crim’s way if the situation had been reversed, just as Party would have held it all together.  
“She wanted to leave, to let them have their victory and just get away. From all of it, the guilt, her love for him…even her love for me I think. I saw that as a betrayal, she saw it as a betrayal that I wanted to stay.”  
Ghoul wrapped his jacket closer as the wind picked up, trying to imagine what it must have been like. He had seen the relief and joy of everyone around them when he got back and the infighting that followed. He admired Rainbow all the more for holding it all together and wondered if it was the frustration that Crim wouldn’t help that had finally sent his lover over the edge. Rainbow looked down and continued.  
“That night was a bad one. We had lost several of the best remaining Killjoys in a bodged raid. I had asked Crim to help, go with them and instead she had got completely wasted in the club and then told me to stop letting people die.”  
Now it was Ghoul’s turn to wince and she giggled at his expression.  
“Started with a few bottles being lobbed and then Crim came at me with the blade. I didn’t even feel it to start with, thought she was aiming at my throat and let off a shot just to get her to back down. Instead it hit her and both of us passed out. Neon saved our lives and got a medic.”  
“Remind me to thank him.”  
Rainbow shivered and both of them noted that the dracs had left. Whatever else was in the storerooms below would be easy pickings. Ghoul helped her to her feet and they climbed carefully down the exposed girders and sagging brickwork. He wondered if Crim would remember the fight at all given the scars.  
“You both recovered though, did you talk about it?”  
Rainbow trudged across the mud, gun in hand as they pushed the door open and checked out the interior. There was a single Drac in the rear storeroom and he never saw his death, just a flash of bright light in the darkened space.  
“No, by the time I was stitched up she was gone. The death sentence is result of the sheer amount of killing that happened after that.”  
“Bad tempered bitch….”  
Rainbow landed on him, kissing his grin and grateful again that he had been restored to her, that all of them had come back. It had seemed impossible at the time and any anger towards her friend had long since disappeared.  
“We’ve made our peace but you know the rest of them haven’t forgiven her.”  
Ghoul turned over some boxes, collecting the food supplies beneath and putting it into Rainbow’s back pack. He had forgotten that the past still hung over them, the excitement of ending it finally had been all consuming. He wondered now if BLI’s downfall would trigger Crimson’s.  
“Party will talk them down. That man can charm anyone’s pants off.”  
“Well you would know…..”  
He chuckled, painting a mock horrified look on his face as she laughed and headed deeper into the massive storeroom. It held medical supplies, a set of uniforms and three more dracs lurking in the tunnels that led out to another entrance. Periodically they raided her, periodically BLI stocked up and tried again. It was almost becoming boring.   
“Guys?”  
The crackling on the radio was hard to tune out, Ghoul finally bashing the top with his fist until he could hear Kobra better. They had moved the Mustang back and away from the building and any remaining patrols, nobody wanted BLI to get wind of the plan and so the communication was brief and to the point.  
“We got it, how far out are you?”  
“Edge of five, on our way.”  
“Cool…..ummm you know Crim threatened to get a pet?”  
There was a pause, Rainbow muttering under her breath about murder, high explosive rounds and her friend’s ass.”  
“Yeah…..”  
“Party stopped her bringing the biggest fucking spider she could find.”  
“Thank fuck.”  
“Yeah….so she found herself a dog instead.”  
The radio cut out, the two of them exchanging a glance before firing up the Mustang. Rainbow had let Ghoul take the wheel, she was tired and needed to sleep. Both she and Crim still had nightmares and she hadn’t told the boys about the three fits Crim had gone through while they had been at the bunker. They both knew that if Party thought she was sick then he would have stopped her going out at all.  
“Dog probably means really big spider.”  
“Shut up Frank.”  
As it turned out, dog did actually mean dog. A small and mean black terrier of very uncertain parentage who Crimson had called….Dog. High spirits still ruled, Party and Jet excitedly fitting the new batteries to the tiny bomb as Toxic helped Kobra to get in touch with Dr D. They had called in the troops, it was time to tell their comrades that the war was entering hopefully its final phase. Some would die, some would live but all of them would get a chance to take on the enemy.


	26. Chapter 26

A BLI van trundled through Zone One, the two dracs inside attracting little attention from the populous or their fellow white suited zombies. Shame for them as the two figures inside were far from the normal undead, below the white jackets and trousers were stealth suits and weapons of mass destruction. They were not speaking, the pain of goodbye seemed to be getting worse rather than better and Crim wanted this over.  
She concentrated on driving, Kobra just as quiet beside her as he considered how hard it could be to get into the drive room. They couldn’t be seen and he had trained hard with his friend as her lover and his brother had drilled and pushed the recruits. They had bombarded the city with trouble and noise and now it had come down to this, the final raid, the last time.  
“Remember, if you even think they are onto you, evac.”  
“Yes Party.”  
“Sure thing bro.”  
Party had glared at them both and it made Crim smile under the mask to remember it. He never seemed able to reconcile the fact that both of them were dangerous fighters and not just his girlfriend and kid brother. He was taking Ghoul and Rainbow with their squad into the city as soon as they signalled it had worked and the city went dark. Jet and Toxic were taking another squad in from the other sites and there were five others, all of them lead by council members and Bright or Amber. It was over a hundred fighters now and Party could only pray it would be enough. He had told his family that win or lose, they were leaving.  
“We’ve done our bit, time to pass the torch on….”  
Kobra considered it as they drove, his head pounding harder the closer they got to the city. He had been forced to ask Ghoul for painkillers and knew that his hair was plastered to his forehead under the mask, sweat dripping in his eyes. Whether he was getting sick or it was just nerves was hard to tell and he kept an eye on the road as they got closer and closer to the great clear dome and the service entrance that would get them inside. He held onto the tiny bomb and it’s signal that would tell his friends they were inside.  
“You okay?”  
Crim’s voice was low and concerned, she had seen his hands shaking.  
“Yeah, headache that’s all.”  
She patted his knee and he grabbed her hand, needing to know that she understood just how dangerous this could be. Both of them were well armed, knives and guns hidden in the pockets of the suits. Invisibility was the main weapon but it didn’t hurt to have some back up.  
“Anything happens in there, run.”  
Crimson returned the squeeze, it was unusual to hear worry in his voice. Kobra was usually the most quietly confident of all of them. He had kept his cool in some really nasty spots, usually with a sarcastic comment attached.  
“Ditto but you know I have your back.”  
“I know, Crim…”  
She giggled at the smile in his voice and pulled the van around a sharp corner. The other dracs nearby didn’t even look up as they swung to a stop. Now they were on watch, communication at a minimum as they swiped a stolen pass key and entered the service hatch.  
It was dark but warm, the air conditioned city was not as pleasant below ground and Kobra had begun to feel nauseous as they worked their way into the duct. He was grateful to strip off the disguise, a chance to wipe his face down before donning the hood and cowl of the stealth suit. Crim could see how sick he looked and considered calling the whole thing off before he pulled up the hood with a smile as if to say not a chance in hell are we leaving.  
The freedom of the suit was good, Crim felt a lot safer and followed Kobra’s shimmer as they navigated another mile of twisting and turning tunnel. She thought about Party’s words earlier, that even if this failed they might walk away. Could they do that? BLI would never stop looking that was for sure and it wouldn’t be possible just to collect Missile and go….still the thought was wonderful.  
“How far?”  
Her voice was low, the communicators in the suit tended to be erratic and his voice sounded a little tinny. Even her head was starting to ache now, the stuffy atmosphere in the enclosed space was not great even if you were not claustrophobic.  
“Next room.”  
Again they fell silent, the light fading a little as they reached the main corridor. Kobra struggled to keep his breathing regular and moved as Crimson had shown him, carefully and with ease. There were a few people here and there, mostly technicians and a few dracs. None of them seemed to notice they were there and it took mere seconds for the passcode device to find and unlock the mainframe door.   
Kobra faltered.  
He remembered this, the long white corridor that lead to the inner door. He couldn’t say why but it bothered him and he didn’t realise that Crimson had passed him before seeing her glimmer in the corridor. Shaking off the feeling he followed and the door slid shut behind them. He quickly walked forward to the inner door and slid the passcode device into the lock. Nothing happened for a second and then a screen flickered and a smiley BLI face appeared.  
“Serpentes.”  
Crimson felt a shiver of fear and grabbed at Kobra’s arm.  
“Serpentes.”  
Kobra couldn’t move, hardly heard Crimson say that they should abort. He remained locked in place. The single word seemed to echo with pain from his head and it was all he could do to remain upright.  
“Kobra, we gotta go. It’s a trap….”  
Crimson tried again, her voice still quiet as she looked around them. The doors at both ends remained closed but nothing else seemed to have happened. It felt wrong and yet there was no attack. Just a repeat of that looped word. Already her mind was in overdrive, they needed an out and the fact that Kobra seemed to have shut down made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.  
“Serpentes.”  
“Serpentes.”  
Kobra shuddered, his hands clapping together as he disarmed the suit and pushed back the hood. He looked sick, gasping for air as Crimson quickly materialised and shoved back her own hood. She wished she had water, her hands lifting his face. He struggled to focus and listen to her urgent words.  
“Kobra, put the hood back on. We gotta go.”  
“Serpentes.”  
“KOBRA.”  
He nodded, his eyes meeting hers for a second before he pulled her into a hug. She returned it, scared now that he was having some kind of reaction to being back in the city and not sure whether he could continue the mission or not. She was about to ask him when he pulled back, a smile on his face.  
“Lily….”  
For a second she froze and that was all it took. Crimson never saw the knife in his hand until it was buried in her side. Mikey smiled a little wider, the shock and pain on her face somehow pleasing him as he twisted the blade a little more and then pushed her away. Crimson fell heavily, panting for breath as she tried to reason out what had just happened. Everything was fading, going black as her mind denied it all and thought only of a dark haired boy who had just been betrayed by his brother.  
Mikey watched dispassionately as her eyes fluttered shut and a little blood started to stain the white floor, stepping over the prone girl as he walked towards the now open entrance way. There was no fear or regret in his mind, just a perfect peace as he found where Korse sat. He waited patiently until the android acknowledged him with a smile of his own.  
“Welcome home.”  
“Thank you sir.”  
The android didn’t bother to look into the corridor, merely noted a call through to the medical unit that there was a corpse that might prove useful outside before turning back to the man in front of him.  
“Now send the signal. Let’s bring all the killjoys into the city and end this war.”


	27. Chapter 27

Party leant against the crumbling brick wall of the shattered building and looked into the distance. The dome was barely a mile away, the light from within drowned out the stars and he shuddered, glad to be breathing in fresh clean air. Well, kinda seeing as Ghoul and Rainbow were sharing a smoke next to him.  
“Anything?”  
“No but everyone else is in position.”  
Ghoul watched the annoyance flicker across his friends face and half smiled. Party hated letting Crim or Kobra out of his sight and now was dealing with both of them getting up to god knows what. He took another drag on the cigarette and looked over at Rainbow, a fresh burst of love for her hitting him as he saw the determination in her face. Somehow he never worried about her, the girls seemed to be able to handle just about anything.   
“There it goes….”  
The sky seemed to flicker as all the lights in the great dome went out, even from that distance it seemed they could hear the screams and the light on the receiver blinked on. Party felt his heart lift, somehow Crim and Kobra had pulled it off and now they had a fighting chance. He looked back at all the eager troops and then to Ghoul, his friend as attractive as always in the half light.  
“Have Red put out the signal and lets do this.”  
Ghoul turned and scrambled back down the dip to the radio units they had set up. There was a small ledge where the young man sat and he looked up eagerly as his hero gave him the nod to send the signal. Ghoul himself was eager to get into the fight and quickly made his way back to where Party was directing the kids into a loose formation. They would have to move forward carefully and he didn’t want to go until he was sure the dome was completely down. If they got close and the light went on…..  
“Rain, anything from Dr D?”  
“Reports of raids on three but nothing about us. He’s gonna tell us if the grid is down.”  
Party nodded and waved the first unit forward, he knew that now the signal had gone out they were committed and all the units would begin to move. Rainbow was now beside him, Ghoul on his other side and there was nothing left to do but get moving. He smiled at them, wishing again that Crim and Kobra were with them. He loaded his gun and they walked out into the desert with the second unit, all of them buoyed by having their leader among them. Party hated that bit, it would make him responsible when they died.  
“Party! Ghoul!”  
There was a breathless shout from behind them and the three turned to see Red climbing the hill. His face was pale in the weak moonlight and he glanced nervously at Party before looking at Ghoul, his voice cracking.  
“Crimson is on the radio for you. Says its urgent.”  
Rainbow put a hand on his shoulder.  
“Go, you can catch us up.”  
“Nope, she’s only gonna get me to break some madness to Party.”  
The other man giggled and followed a nervous Red back to the radio set, glancing over his shoulder to check that Ghoul and Rainbow had caught up with the kids. He picked up the mike and grinned, on a high that the dome remained dark.  
“Baby?”  
“Call them back Party, it’s a trap.”  
Party blinked, something cold going up his back at her tone.  
“Trap?”  
“BLI did something to Kobra, he turned on me. They were waiting for us…get them all the fuck away from the city.”  
Frantically he reached out, grabbing Red’s arm in a vice like grip. The kid now looked terrified and listened wordlessly as his leader spoke directly to him. Party himself had gone into survival mode, his mind shutting out the fact that his brother and lover were in danger until he was far enough away from trouble to deal with it.  
“Red, listen to me carefully. Call Jet and tell him to pull all the squads back, get hold of Dr D and tell him the same. Nobody is to go into the city.”  
Red nodded and ran back to the old reserve radio, leaving Party to frantically talk to Crimson, his voice tight. There was no time, he needed to know she was ok before he could get to Ghoul and pull his team out.  
“Are you okay?”  
Her voice came over the static, he couldn’t tell if that was what made her sound tired.  
“Yeah, I think I passed out. Now get them out of there and I’ll meet you at the Crater.”  
The radio went dead and he threw the mike down in frustration before sprinting back up the slope. If Kobra had been compromised then it meant that the tiny bomb was now in the enemies hands. All his hopes of ending the war were fading before Party’s eyes and he felt rage rising up.  
“Ghoul!”  
Rainbow turned at her lover’s name, seeing Party running towards them. Instantly she knew something was wrong and waited, Ghoul closing the distance between himself and Party. The rest of the squad were still moving forward and now getting perilously close to being in range if the dracs were standing by.  
“Get them back. Kobra is compromised and sounds like Crim only just got out. We’re walking into an ambush.”  
“Fuck….”  
Rainbow was already running forward, darting amongst the kids and turning them around. Ghoul followed, frantically watching the dome as Party headed in the opposite direction. Soon the word was spreading and the killjoys started to retreat, Party hoping that all the other squads had got word too. Still the dome remained dark, the one thing that they had been so hopeful about now seemed ominous.  
“I called them all.”  
Red looked flushed and scared, Ghoul grabbing him in a reassuring hug as they scrambled back towards the scrubland.   
“You did good, pack it up and lets get the hell outta here.”  
“Party?”  
Rainbow glanced around, unable to see her friend as the killjoys trudged past her. She was now getting increasingly concerned about Crim and the thought that Kobra was back in BLI’s clutches was unbearable. Without the bomb there would be little they could do to take out the city although she had some idea that Ghoul’s other plan with some modifications might work.  
That thought lingered as the dome lit up and everyone started to scream and run. She felt Ghoul grab her hand and stumbled along, her eyes fixed on the white shapes now pouring from the city. Party was suddenly beside her and she saw the rage on his face.  
“Too late to run, we’re going to have to fight.”  
Their guns were drawn and the three turned, seeing bright sparks of laser fire burst from all sides as the killjoys turned back to face the enemy. It was terrifying and yet somehow brutally beautiful and she aimed without thinking, the drac flying backwards as gunfire streaked past her. Ghoul was screaming, Party at his shoulder as they took down targets left and right….it felt like armageddon.


	28. Chapter 28

Jet Star was pissed off.  
He strode through the mix of his own side and the enemy, seemingly impervious to the sheer amount of laser fire going off left and right. People often mistook the quietly spoken man, not seeing what his friends saw. Party had long said that Jet was a genius, more complicated than they gave him credit for. Ghoul recalled many a bar fight that had seen the big man go beserk and now it was happening again.  
Jet himself wanted a quiet life. He wanted to do his research, keep his family safe and enjoy as many women as he could with Kobra. The Kid was his wingman when they hit the clubs and they prided themselves on never leaving alone. He had those memories in his head and a burning rage that BLI had taken Kobra’s mind and turned him against his friends.  
Another drac was flung backwards as Toxic arrived beside him and they took down three more that had pinned down some of the recruits near the stack of boulders. Jet knew the numbers game was against them and he wanted to work his troops around to where Party was on the other side of the dome. He had been in contact with the other teams and knew that most had bugged out for home. All that was left to do was find his other friends and regroup.  
“Toxic, mortars at ten. Get them the fuck away.”  
The boy nodded and screamed out orders as a bright flare sent a rocket into the brush where the recruits had been gathering just seconds before. Some managed to get out the way but most were not so lucky and Jet ended up wiping blood from his face with a roar of rage. He grabbed up two of the survivors and Toxic herded more as they fled around more burning bodies, both drac and killyjoy.  
“Jet, down there….”  
Toxic pointed and he turned, seeing what the kid had seen and feeling a little hope. It was the BLI van, crashed off the road and into the ditch. Jet smiled, with Crim in full on homicidal mode it might even up the odds. He ran forward, scrambling easily down the rocks with Toxic on his tail. The van appeared to be empty, his hope fading as he realised what he was looking at, Toxic voicing his thoughts.  
“Is that….blood?”  
Jet nodded, turning on his heel.  
“Crimson? Sound off!!”  
There was nothing but the sounds of battle, the two men joined by the horde of recruits they had been trying to save. Jet continued to look around the van, there was a lot of blood in there and he wondered if Crim was injured. The message from Party had been brief and he hadn’t thought to ask.  
“Look around, we have five minutes. If we can’t find her then we assume she will meet us back at the club.”  
The team peeled off, Jet kneeling down to look at the scrapes and blood. He was getting cold, a terrible feeling going up his back as he looked at the dangling radio mike. He let the battle die back in his head, leaden feet following the trail of blood until he spotted something in the bushes where the light didn’t reach.  
“Toxic, get me a medic!”  
Jet knelt in the sand and touched Crim’s face. She was cold and as his fingers fumbled for a pulse he already knew there wouldn’t be one. She was too pale and still, Crimson was never still and his brain registered that it bothered him more than the blood that had flowed from the wound in her side. His fingers were sticky with her blood as he lifted her into his arms and rocked her, his voice cracking.  
“Can’t leave you alone for five minutes can I? How am I gonna tell him Crim, how am I gonna tell him you went and got yourself killed?”  
“No……”  
Toxic slumped beside him stricken as one of the recruits that had some medical experience pulled Crimson from Jet’s arms and laid her on the sand. Jet couldn’t move, wanted to scream at the girl that she was dead, don’t fucking touch her but nothing seemed real. The girl confirmed the worst sadly, closing Crim’s eyes and leaving the two men to their grief.  
“Jet, we have to go. We need to get the hell out of here.”  
The tall man nodded absently and bent down, picking Crim up as Toxic grabbed her gun and his. The fight was nearing an end, most of the dracs now in pursuit of the remaining killjoys and it took very little to stay out of sight in the dark. Jet was numb, even the rage gone as he thought back over all the times he and Crimson had sat out on the roof at the diner and talked shit, Rainbow usually laughing at them both. It would almost be worse telling her than Party.  
Ghoul came steamrollering out of the dark, a fist fight between himself and a drac had got personal and know he was chasing the mortally wounded thing as it screamed and fought. Ghoul landed on it, the rock in his hand pounding away at the thing’s head until all movement was stilled. He looked up with a satisfied grin that died away at the expression on Jet’s face and the burden in his arms.  
“But….she called Party, she told him Kobra had gone rogue. She was okay…”  
“She would have told him she was fine anyway. You know that.”  
Ghoul screamed, kicking at the dead drac on the floor in pure rage. It was that more than anything that brought Rainbow and Party towards them. It was hard to see in the half light and everyone wanted to be on the move and away from the carnage. Killjoy numbers were less than half what they had been and they needed to regroup and decide what was going to happen next. All thoughts of that fled as Rainbow saw the one thing she had dreaded. Party just stopped, his face blank with shock. They seemed to stand there an age before Rainbow turned to look at Party, her voice a whisper.  
“Did Kobra do this?”  
Party nodded slowly, his mind forcing itself to deal with what he was looking at.  
“She said he turned on her, that she passed out.”  
“He stabbed her.”  
Ghoul glared at Jet, the blunt words breaking through his shock.  
“He didn’t know what he was doing, fucking BLI killed her. Not Kobra.”  
Rainbow had reached Jet, stroking her fingers down Crimson’s face before gently kissing her lips. She turned on her heel and walked back towards the track that would lead them away from the city and back to where the cars were parked. Ghoul followed, he knew that Party would need time, hell he needed time to process this and he caught up with Rainbow, just to hold her as both of them let the tears flow.  
“Are we taking her home or….”  
Jet’s words tailed away. He had never seen the look on Party’s face before as his friend lifted his lover from his arms and carried her in the direction that Ghoul and Rainbow had taken. Jet followed slowly, wiping his hands down his jeans as Party spoke over his shoulder.  
“Yes. There are freezers in the morgue at the Crater. We have three days before she is lost to me forever so you know what?”  
“What?”  
Party turned back, his look one of absolute certainty.  
“I am going into the city. I am going to save my brother and then I am going to make them bring Crimson back to me. After that I am going to destroy BLI for the last time.”


	29. Chapter 29

“To Crim.”  
Rainbow raised the glass and downed the shot, Neon already filling it again as the others did the same. Ghoul rubbed his face and downed the second one just as quick, motioning for another. He wanted to get blind drunk and then go to bed, hold Rainbow and never move again. Not that he would do that when he knew Party was down at the morgue. Alone.  
“To all the fallen. We lost a lot of good people tonight.”  
They all looked at the other end of the bar to where Black Mercury was raising her glass. Jet offered up a silent prayer that there would be no more trouble as Fairy came to stand at Rainbow’s shoulder.  
“I had my differences with your friend, we all did. But that doesn’t mean she wasn’t a killjoy and she did give Party the warning that saved some of us so….cheers.”  
“Killjoys never die.”  
Rainbow noted the bitter irony in Ghoul’s words. Crimson would have found it hilarious that her death had brought about a reconciliation and somehow that thought made Rainbow smile. She kissed Ghoul’s cheek and motioned to Neon for another bottle of whiskey from the shelf.  
“I’m gonna go check on Party.”  
Ghoul nodded, she kissed him lightly followed by Jet and then left them to it. Both of them were going to be very drunk by the time she got back and part of her wanted to join them but she couldn’t. Not while Party was brooding next to her best friend, killed by his own brother. Rainbow dreaded the time when they would have to break that news to Kobra, he would never forgive himself.  
The morgue down at the bottom of the club was rarely used. Only a few times had they got a drac in there to autopsy or a bot to pull to pieces. Their own dead they buried in the desert and Rainbow forced herself to think of putting a letter in the box for Crim and saying goodbye. She understood why Party wanted to revive her in the city, it wasn’t exactly a secret that their scientists would raise the dead but the likelihood of getting in there now seemed to remote that it was impossible.  
“Hey….”  
Party looked up as she came in and she forced herself not to wince. He was deadly pale, the black hair spiked back and in disarray. He had been hit in the face with a gun butt during the fight and he had sat without emotion as Rainbow had put three stitches in just above his eye. It was now bruised and swelling, somehow apt with the smoke hanging from his lips and the empty bottle in his right hand. Party sat next to the drawer where Crim’s body lay and had spent the last hour arguing with her for being dead.  
“Hey, you ok?”  
“No and neither are you.”  
He nodded slowly, his head banging back against the steel drawers.  
“Of all of us, she was the immortal one. Nothing could touch her and I thought out of all of us, Crim would make it out.”  
Rainbow opened the bottle and took a slug before passing it to Party.  
“I know, even shooting her in the head didn’t work.”  
“I want her back, I am going to get her back.”  
Rainbow sighed and turned her head, taking his hand in hers. It was cold in the morgue, the time they had to make this work was ticking away and she tried to find the right words to say to him that he may have to face the fact that it wouldn’t happen.  
“How Party? We can’t get near the city now….”  
“We can if we kill everyone in it.”  
Rainbow turned properly, looking at Party as if he had gone mad.  
“What?”  
“The water supply. We take the tree venom and infect the water supply. Then load up the robot spiders from the bunker with as many of Ghoul’s bombs as we can and send them into the air ducts. It will be chaos and you know that Korse will seal himself and the dracs in the main building. The science building is two blocks away and we can get Crim in there and force the scientists to restore her before we find Kobra.”  
She stared, the plan had been delivered in a monotone but she couldn’t deny it was something that could work. The cost to the people in the dome would be huge, far more than anything they had ever done. Rainbow had no problem with killing dracs and the like but this would make them all mass murderers.  
“Party, those are innocent people.”  
“Nobody is innocent, not you, not me, not them.”  
Rainbow shuddered, she knew where those words had come from and the certainty in his voice was starting to scare her. Ghoul would go along with it, she knew he had no moral qualms about killing those inside and less so now Crimson was dead and Kobra had been taken from them. Jet would probably be the same, the council also.   
“Rain, not everyone would die. Its not as if the stuff can get through walls but it will take them off the streets. We can use it to take back what’s ours….and maybe even get the tiny bomb back from Korse.”  
Party could see the internal battle on her face and understood it. He didn’t want to do this, everything in him warned that it would make them no better than BLI. Had they ever been? Nothing had ever been black and white and there had always been civilian casualties. He could understand the people wanting and needing the security that BLI gave. It was perfect, it was happy if you didn’t want to see and feel the harshness of the blighted land outside and yet it was still so wrong. Party could feel the grief welling up and knew that even though it was going to kill him if he dwelt on it, it was real. As real as his love for Crim and that was worth killing for.  
“Guys….we got a BLI newsfeed from the dome.”  
Toxic waited as his friends rose and they made their way back up to the meeting room. Dr D, Show Pony, Amber and Bright, Nitro, Fox, Fairy and even Mercury were there with the rest of the survivors. Party didn’t look at them, finding only Ghoul and Jet as they sat together and looked up at the rotating BLI logo. Rainbow was pulled into Ghoul’s arms, his head on her shoulder as he snarled when Korse appeared on the screen.  
“Again we have foiled an attack on our utopia by the killjoy scum. We tricked them by using their own people against them and now have their weapon. Look….”  
A collective groan went up from around the room as Kobra was led onto the stage. He looked vacant, empty and Party felt his pain drowned out by rage. He could see the look on Rainbow’s face and knew that she would agree to his plan now and that so would the rest of them. It now depended on these few minutes as to whether they would be reviving one corpse or two.  
“Kobra Kid….Michael James Way. One man but we manipulated his mind and he gave us all the secrets of his brother’s plan and killed his bitch lover in the process. The depraved mind is so much easier to manipulate although this one is stronger than most. Now let us give him back his mind.”  
Korse removed a small device from his pocket and gave it to a man in a white coat. Jet knew what it was, a neural transmitter that could be used to scramble someone’s head if they were within distance of the formatter. It only worked once and usually killed the person but as Korse had said, Kobra wasn’t just anyone. There was a whine and Party watched his brother fall to his knees, shaking his head and groaning in pain. Two dracs picked him up and Kobra caught sight of Korse, lunging forward.  
“What the fuck did you do to me?”  
“Mikey, its not what we did….its what you did.”  
The big screen behind them lit up, Ghoul’s hoarse whisper carrying to Party as they all watched the security tape start to roll.   
“Gee…don’t watch this. Please…”  
Party shook his head, steeling himself as the screen showed the glimmer of the suits fading and Kobra pulling off his mask. There was a pause and he winced as Crim appeared, obviously telling him to put the mask back on. There was no sound to the video and only silence in the room and on the screen as Kobra doubled over, his hands to his head. They watched him straighten up and smile, pulling Crimson into his arms. The knife in his hand caused an audible moan and then a gasp as he brutally stabbed his friend, twisting the knife until she crumpled to the floor.   
“No….No, I didn’t do that. You fucking bastards.”  
Party knew the tears were running down his face as he watched Kobra scream and fight to get free. Korse was smiling in his own ghoulish way and clearly enjoyed the destroyed look on Kobra’s face. It was somehow worse to watch that than know that Korse was right and he had killed Crim, even if it had been unintentional.  
“You murdered that poor girl! We can’t have that and so I will give your brother the justice he so richly deserves.”  
Ghoul clenched his fists, Rainbow now on her feet as angry murmurs ran through the crowd. Jet was holding everything in and watching Party closely as their leader stared doggedly at the screen.  
“Gerard. We miss you. You have to come home and save your brother by surrendering and bringing your friends with you. I will give you two days. If not, I will hang Michael in the square for sweet Lily’s murder…”  
The transmission broke off and the room erupted in shouting and anger. Party sat in the middle of it with a slight smile on his face as Rainbow grabbed Ghoul and Jet, pulling them to one side and quickly outlining Party’s earlier plan. Ghoul smiled in grim satisfaction, even Jet nodding as she told them how she had not wanted to do it until watching that film and seeing Kobra.  
“We can do it.”  
“We will do it.”  
Party turned back to the room and raised his hand for silence, a smile playing across his features.  
“Well I guess we’d better surrender.”


	30. Chapter 30

Party put his hands down on the map of the city and looked up at the room in front of him.  
“So this is the plan.”  
He looked to his left, to where Jet and Ghoul stood. Both were unarmed and stone faced, ready to go back into the city even if it meant that the past was repeated.  
“Ghoul, Jet and I will go in the front unarmed and surrender. We know that Korse will take us to Scarecrow headquarters so we will be inside for phase two.”  
The killjoys looked at the next two places he pointed to on the map. All of them had spent twenty four hours getting ready to fight and they were all well armed. Bright and Amber stood with their team, Nitro and Fox on the other side of the table. Party turned to them both.  
“Meanwhile, Bright and Amber take the water plant. Put the fruit poison in and flush it into the system. Nitro and Fox will take their team to the air plants and send the mechanical spiders through the vents to release the poison there. It will cause chaos and is deadly so remember the gas masks.”  
Party had been somewhat grimly amused that none of them had voiced doubts about killing the people in the city. Everyone wanted the war over and Crim’s words had been somewhat prophetic. Nobody was innocent and nobody was safe. The city had killed too many of the killjoys, had now used Kobra in the worst way possible and it was time to end things once and for all.  
“That leaves Rainbow and Neon to head for the science block with Crim. I have prepared a couple of weapons that will make sure that they do what you want and there is also this….”  
He pushed forward a battered metal box and smiled at Rainbow.  
“The note was addressed to both of us. Seems that Crim left us a message with Dr.D.”  
The DJ smirked and nodded as Rainbow picked up the letter, the grin automatic at the messy handwriting. She read it aloud, having scanned the contents she knew it was something that all of the assembly would love and very Crimson.  
“Guys….  
So if you’re reading this I’m dead and that fucking sucks.  
I could go on forever about how I love you all and you would yawn so instead I have left you something much more amusing. It’s the last remaining syringe of Korse’s dissolving juice. I saved it after the battle for the first city and am now leaving it to you so you can kill the bastard that killed me.  
Happy hunting   
Crim”  
Rainbow giggled as Ghoul shook his head with a rueful smile.  
“Can’t we take that with us?”  
“I think you should. Party, you need something and we know that will work on Korse.”  
Party had to nod but had something else in mind for himself and the boys. He knew Ghoul would hate it and probably punch him in the mouth but that would be worth it. To reveal it now would be unwise so instead he pointed down.  
“We have Dog and another little surprise. You take the goo. Now is everyone clear on the timetable here?”  
There was a round of nods and some talking as the killjoys split off into their groups. Neon hugged his friends and left Rainbow to say her goodbyes. It seemed all too familiar, the boys heading into the city alone and on what amounted to a suicide mission. Only this time everyone was going and she didn’t have Crim with her to make it bearable.   
“Remember the signal, as soon as chaos hits we will have to find our own ways out. If we can get our hands on the tiny bomb I’m gonna use it.”  
Rainbow kissed Party hard and pulled on his ear.  
“Not if it means any of you die. I’m not bringing Crim back to go through that again.”  
“Jeez Ghoul, your woman is a bitch….”  
He smirked as Ghoul grinned and kissed her goodbye, Jet following behind them as she turned on her heel and headed down to the morgue. They had the hardest job in getting into the dome, it required a hearse, drac uniforms and heavy duty tranquilisers. Quietly Rainbow was keeping back some of that for in case this did actually work. Nothing like an unpredictable back from the dead Crim to cause trouble.  
Party was just glad to be moving. His mind was set on one objective and one only. This had to end and he needed back what was currently lost to him. He would never tell them all about the hours in the morgue, the brooding over getting Kobra back from the city. It made him want to drink himself to sleep or death, whichever happened to come along first and Party knew that would get him killed.  
“You ready for this?”  
Jet studied Party’s face.  
“As ready as I can be. You?”  
“Don’t wanna die again or be brainwashed but yeah. Ghoul?”  
Ghoul looked up from talking to Dog, his face calm.  
“We are going in and we are going to come out again having royally fucked BLI right up the ass.”  
Party choked, roaring with laughter as Jet stared quizzically at Ghoul.  
“Well you can fuck Korse if you really want to but…”  
Ghoul shrugged, opening the door of the Trans Am.  
“He’s a bottom I reckon, can’t see him as the Dominant type.”  
“Ghoul, he probably ain’t got a dick.”  
“Exactly why he’s a bottom.”  
“He may well suck cock good tho…”  
Jet flicked both of his friends on the ears causing them to look around.  
“Are we really having this conversation or is this you two planning tonight’s lovemaking?”  
“Bit of both.”  
Party fired up the car and they swung up and out of the underground car park and headed for Zone One. The dome itself was well lit up and they could see all the patrol cars that were combing the desert below. Korse was clearly confident that they would turn themselves in and try to make an all out fight of it. Made infiltration harder but all the more important. A battle only favoured the enemy.  
“Well here we go….”  
The Trans Am streaked down into view, heading straight for the main entrance at full speed. Nobody tried to stop them, the huge door at the front opening slowly to allow them access to the lower areas that were full of heavily armed dracs and scarecrows. Within minutes all three had been searched and were in cuffs. The car was searched too although not well and not thoroughly enough. The Trans Am had been modified over the years and as soon as things went quiet in the garage, Toxic slipped from the chassis and checked that all was in place. Dog grumpily crawled from his jacket, the modified gas mask over his face masking the disgruntled growling as Toxic checked the other box he carried along with the Killjoys weapons and his own.  
It was easy enough to slip into the city, his many months of blending in gave him an edge and his scarecrow uniform meant that nobody would approach him. Toxic had become a weapon, his access card still worked so he was confident that nobody had figured out which scarecrow had gone rogue. He sent Dog into the ductwork with a homing beacon, the training he and Crim had worked out would mean that the box with the surprise and guns could be called for exactly when needed. All that mattered now was getting to where Korse would be holding the boys.  
He jogged up to the main office in the security headquarters, a white clad figure among many, and heard voices from the far end. The recording studio that was used to broadcast to the Zones. Toxic wondered if it was the android that had the ego or those who controlled him, they seemed all too keen to brag.  
Party was on his knees next to Kobra who looked to be in shock and who had clearly taken a bad beating. Ghoul and Jet stood side by side, unafraid and a united front against the pale bald man who smiled broadly.  
“Let us begin….”


	31. Chapter 31

Rainbow heard the screaming as they jogged along the service corridor that would lead them out into the city. It would be a short walk across the square to the medical and science block but already the gas mask felt hot and uncomfortable and didn’t mute out the sounds.  
Clearly objective one had been achieved, Neon looking through the door quickly and giving the troop the thumbs up. They had the mocked up freezer on wheels that held Crim behind them and stepped out into a scene from hell. Rainbow gritted her teeth, the veterans were used to death but she could hear the gasps from the kids as they walked slowly out into the carnage.  
“Keep your eyes on the prize. The boys are depending on us.”  
Several of them nodded, her words helping to steady them as hands grabbed at their clothes and the sheer amount of bodies seemed to make the pavement writhe. It was hard to push the freezer and Neon gave up trying to be nice about it, kicking out at the dying crowd as the begging got louder.  
“Shoot them if you have to.”  
Rainbow knew the two behind her considered it brutal but they were on a clock and all she could think about was getting her best friend back and then heading over to the security tower to help Ghoul. The poison was effective, that much was clear and they met no resistance going across the square. Numerous white suited bodies were among the dead and dying, clearly dracs were human enough to die all over again.  
Neon put the pass card reader to use, the gadget that Jet had adapted would open all the doors they needed and it would be amusing plus an incentive to threaten to open all the door and flood the place with the poisoned air if they were not obeyed. Rainbow had her gun in one hand and Crim’s in the other, the team spreading out and carefully going down the long corridors to where the signs forked left and right.  
“Which way Neon?”  
Neon took a small map from one of the team, his voice muffled by the mask.  
“We want Cellular Regeneration.”  
“Left…keep it tight.”  
The killjoys bunched, the stretcher being pushed between them as they headed down the corridor. Strangely they didn’t seem to attract attention, the scientists far too busy panicking and staring out the windows as they tried to figure out what was going on. Clearly the air filtration was still working and that would make things more difficult. Rainbow checked her batteries and then looked up as one of the other members of the team pointed at the legs of a metal spider just visible in the vent.  
“We need to do this now….”  
Neon smirked already kicking in the door as the scientists inside started to scream and cough. They knew who to aim for and two of them found themselves bundled to the floor, gas masks shoved rudely over their faces as their leader put Crim’s gun up under his chin. The man with the scars blanched, realising that this was no accidental release of BLI’s making but a concerted killjoy attack.  
“You’re going to help us.”  
“Never!”  
Rainbow backhanded him hard and grabbed the straps of the gasmask.  
“Sure about that?”  
The other helpless people in the room were starting to drop and foam at the mouth, the ugly death from the plants worked its way through the room. The other scientist was already gabbling and agreeing but Rainbow wanted the expert and he knew from her eyes that she would have no qualms about letting him die.  
“Fine.”  
They left the dying behind and pushed the trolley down into the cold rooms of the building, the captive scientists leading the way. Crim’s gift weighed heavy in Rainbow’s pocket and she didn’t know if even now she would be able to use it. The death around them was nothing to what that syringe could do and the only immune person they had found so far remained herself.  
“The filters are separate in here. We will not need the masks.”  
Rainbow shrugged at the scarred man’s words and looked at Neon.  
“Test the theory in case this ass is lying.”  
Neon didn’t hesitate, pulling the gas mask from the other scientist who started to scream until he realised the air was ok. Rainbow motioned to the others, glad to be able to pull the gas mask away and stare at the man as she wiped her hair back from her forehead and breathed in the cold air.  
“You’re going to revive my friend. Now. Do not even think of fucking with me in any way or doing it wrong because the consequences would be far worse than anything BLI could do to you.”  
The men both nodded slowly, only now really looking at the refrigerated gurney.  
“Names?”  
The scarred man pointed to his compatriot.  
“That’s Biggs. My name is Smith.”  
“How original. So now what Mr Smith?”  
The man pointed to Biggs who walked over to the chamberlike device in front of them and fired up the computer. Soon the hum of machinery filled the small room and Rainbow nodded as Smith pointed to the casket.  
“The subject.”  
“Yes.”  
“May I see?”  
She swallowed and pushed the buttons Jet had showed her, allowing the casket to open with a blast of cold air. Crim still looked peaceful and just sleeping, Smith growling in recognition as he took in the girl in the box.  
“Not her. I won’t do it.”  
Rainbow turned and pulled out the metal box. She lifted out the syringe and watched as he recognised the printed number on the side. The man went paler, the scars on his face showing up even more livid as he realised what it would mean to say no. Biggs didn’t understand his bosses reluctance or his fear, noting only that the corpse was female, pretty and sporting a nasty stab wound between her ribs.  
“Did she give you those scars?”  
“Yes and murdered my sons in an ambush on a caravan. Killjoy scum.”  
Rainbow nodded, that did sound horribly possible.  
“Nevertheless you will do this or die.”  
The man nodded, his fear of the syringe outweighing his hatred. Neon sent half the squad out to meet up with Amber and the other two squads. They needed to help Party when the signal was sent and the negotiations for Crim’s life were well in hand. They helped the two scientists put her into the machine and then stood back.  
“Will she come back knowing who she is?”  
Smith nodded.  
“Without the programme for making her a drac or any other specific requirements? Yes.”  
“Don’t fuck it up, I will know…..”  
Rainbow liked the fear on his face and stood back with the other killjoys as the two scientists fired up the huge machine. It rumbled and roared, the Geiger counter on Neon’s belt jumping and steadying as they fired beams of energy and electricity into the midst of the box holding Crimson.  
None of them really wanted to know how it worked and were happy only that Biggs said the procedure took less than twenty minutes. It was something else to watch the glowing box of coloured light and Rainbow found she was holding her breath, hoping on hope that it would work.  
“She will be very disorientated when she comes to. I recommend taking this slowly.”  
Smith looked at the smile on Rainbow’s face and considered offering to fix her scars as the machine finally juddered to a halt. These killjoys were so imperfect, so…dirty and wild that it bothered him intently.  
“Its done….”  
Biggs looked nervous as he opened up the doors. For a moment, nothing moved, all of them holding their breath. Rainbow was ready to kill the man, she wanted him dead if Crim didn’t come out of there and could feel the anger among her friends. The two scientists knew it too, shifting uncomfortably until somebody coughed.  
“What the fuck….why am I naked? Where the fuck am I? FUCK!”  
Rainbow grinned, her feet carrying her quickly to the door of the machine where she grabbed onto a very unsteady Crimson and guided her out into the room. Neon grabbed a blanket and put it around her shoulders as Rainbow cupped her face and drew her attention.  
“Crim?”  
“Huh?”  
“How do you feel?”  
Crimson shook her head, vision and memory slowly returning. Kobra in the tunnel, the pain…crawling along the tunnel….calling Party and then….nothing. She tried to focus on Rainbow and the room, the smell of antiseptic telling her that she was in the city. She pulled the blanket closer and rubbed a hand over the ache in her ribs.  
“Good…but Kobra stabbed me.”  
“You died Crim.”  
Rainbow and Neon fought back the smiles as Crimson raised an eyebrow.  
“I fucking what??”  
“We found you outside the city. I’ll explain later but right now the boys have surrendered to Korse, we have poisoned the city and we need to go help them.”  
Crimson blinked, filing the knowledge of being dead for later thought and looking around for clothes. Neon passed her a bag of her things, Crimson quickly dressing as she tried to put things into focus. All that mattered was that Party was in danger and they needed to act. She took her gun from Rainbow and matter of factly shot the two scientists through the head. Rainbow was now satisfied that her friend was just fine and they shared a smile.  
“Let’s go get the boys.”


	32. Chapter 32

Meanwhile….  
The BLI hierarchy had arrived to see the four men die. Korse had proved worthy, he had manipulated and used the enemy to bring them this final victory and although there had been a delay, it was now a triumph. They had shown that without their leaders the killjoys could be mopped up and defeated once and for all.  
Party didn’t recognise any of the men, he didn’t need to see their faces to know who they were. He had seen the pictures in Korse’s office all the time they had been using him in the city and now he was ready to watch them all die. He cradled Kobra, his little brother openly sobbing against his chest and apologising over and over for what had happened to Crimson. Party had whispered that all wasn’t yet lost but he wasn’t sure Kobra had heard him and was reassured by the calm presence of Jet and the determination in Ghoul’s face that they could pull this off.  
“It’s over Gerard. We have won.”  
The statement was delivered bluntly and a giggle broke free from Party as he looked up at the pale faced android.  
“Won? You’ve won nothing. You can kill us as many times as you want but you won’t kill the idea. Go for it and see.”  
“That’s the idea…”  
“KORSE!”  
One of the men had gone to the window and was transfixed. Through the muted glass they could hear the screaming rising like a great tidal wave and alarms started to ring in the building, the air conditioning shutting itself down as the building’s security reacted to the poisoned gas and sealed the ducts. The water set off alarms too as the mashed fruit flowed out of the pipes into the supply and killed people that way. Ghoul couldn’t stop the smile forming on his face as the men screamed at the android and the dracs to do something. They had almost forgotten the killjoys, turning only when Jet helped Party to lift Kobra to his feet.  
“You…did this? You murdered innocent people?”  
Party stared at the man, no pity left in him when he saw what they had done to Kobra.  
“Nobody is innocent. I never wanted this but you couldn’t let us go…”  
A door opened and a scarecrow walked through, lifting the spirits of the men until he pulled off the mask. Toxic stared around, the fight three floors below was uneven and the main killjoy force was in the building, opening every vent and every defence against the gas. Korse seemed unable to move, the screams now closer and all too real as laser fire joined them. The newcomer stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled before pulling down his gasmask.  
Party stepped forward, the ceiling coming down as Dog came through the tiles at speed. It was all happening so fast as the four donned masks to match Toxic and the animal as it stopped at Ghoul’s feet. The box was still strapped to his back and he threw Party the enclosed plastic one and his gun, passing the others to his friends. The dracs tried, several of them falling in the first exchange as the killjoys opened fire. Party and Kobra were back to back. The younger brother coming out of his stupor, the rage helping and within the space of a minute everything had changed.  
“You have about a minute and a half left before the gas reaches here, any last words?”  
The android didn’t react but the leaders started to scream, one of them grabbing at Party as his friends dispatched the few remaining dracs in the room.  
“What do you want? You can’t just let us die….”  
“You made my brother kill the woman I love. You had the four of us murdered and killed countless hundreds of my friends.”  
A grey haired man stepped forward, unbeknown to the killjoys he had the titular title of president of the US and what remained of the world. He controlled Korse and now powered down the white creature in an attempt to drop the tension that now grew in the room as the seconds ticked down.  
“And this makes you better than us?”  
Party smiled, the beauty of the young man through the mask not lost on the men in front of him.  
“No and we never were. I tried to rationalise it but all we wanted was to be free.”  
“Murderers….”  
Party opened the little plastic tub in his hand and set it on the table, letting the creature free as Ghoul swore under his breath and climbed onto the nearest chair. The creature skittered away, heading for one of the female staff who started to scream as it hissed.   
“Creature of chaos like us and that’s what you never understood. You can make something perfect but there is no accounting for chaos.”  
The remaining BLI staff had been herded into the room, followed by Rainbow and her squad. The others had cleared the building and started to mop up, outside people were still dying and now the leaders had started to cough and choke.  
“New World Order but you won’t live to see it…”  
Ghoul climbed down now the spider had gone into the vents and removed the gun from Korse. The android seemed to have shut down, unmoving and silent causing the killjoys to wonder if he was remotely linked in some way to the system of the building. It didn’t matter, Party only able to see that Crimson was not among his friends in the room.   
“This room has a venting system. We can talk, please….”  
The President was gasping now and it was left to Jet to nod. The man frantically jammed his keycard into the console and the doors slammed down, a secondary system flushing the room with fresh oxygen. When the men and women had stopped coughing Party removed his mask.  
“So talk. I will tell you my terms.”  
“Wealth and an easy life, you can do whatever you want in the city.”  
Party shrugged.  
“We can do whatever we like anyway. Ghoul…search Korse.”  
The dark haired man smiled at Rainbow, seeing the sparkle in her eyes and knowing that it could only mean one thing. He went through Korse’s pockets and pulled out the memory stick.  
“Oh look…..a tiny bomb.”  
The President looked confused, not understanding until Jet took it from Ghoul and stared at the tiny thing. Rainbow worked her way around to Party and whispered in his ear, Kobra now beginning to understand as she explained so that only he could hear.  
“Tiny EMP bomb…shall I go plug it in?”  
“If you would, don’t forget your mask….”  
That single moment everyone’s attention was diverted and the President now took his chance to save his empire, reactivating the android and diving for the gun in Ghoul’s hand, Rainbow landed on the android, jabbing a needle of the concentrated juice into its neck as it started to shoot wildly. Ghoul backhanded the President, Party taking down another of the leaders that tried to go for Jet. The scramble was quickly over, the android writhing in the corner, sparks flying from it as something in the corner of the room shimmered. Party picked up the President by his ear as the shimmer became a human shape that pushed back the black hood with a grin.  
Crimson.  
For a moment she locked eyes with Party, the sheer joy of seeing his face causing time to freeze as he felt everything shift. He had been hoping but had never quite been sure that she would come back to him and now….Kobra smiled, relief flooding his system as she winked at him and then turned her attention to the man Party held.  
“Is this him?”  
“It is my love…this is my lover, the one you murdered.”  
The President gaped, the short girl was all too alive although deadly pale and clearly intent on hurting him. Crimson circled them, staring at the man as Jet headed down to the drive room with Toxic. It had come down to this, BLI was done and she could spare him if she chose to let him live out his existence with the other BLI hotshots in the misery of the dead city…..or….  
“I think I like you better dead….”  
Party grinned, all of them pulling down the masks again as she plunged the syringe into the man’s chest. Ghoul reactivated the doors, the gas flooding in as the Killjoys left behind the screams and walked out of the room of death to meet the squads of killjoys in the square. The big screens buzzed and blanked out, muted cheers going up as the tiny bomb did its work and the city died in a great buzz of static. There was nothing left to say or do, no great celebration just the final knowledge that it was over.  
“So now what….”  
Party turned back, watching Toxic and Neon embrace as the other council members hugged. He looked at his family, Crimson back in his arms and gave them all a wide smile.  
“Well I hear Vegas is nice this time of year.”


End file.
